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December 12, 2018

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Auto sales continue slide, but NEV business booms

China’s auto sales continued their long downward trend last month as demand weakened and macro-economic factors weighed.

Year-on-year sales fell 13.9 percent in November to 2.55 million vehicles, continuing the downward trend since July, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers yesterday.

In the first 11 months of the year, total sales fell 1.7 percent from the same period a year earlier, to 25.42 million vehicles.

Last month’s sales decline was due to fewer passenger cars being sold, the CAAM said. Sedans, multi-purpose vehicles and sports-utility vehicles all fell in November compared with the same month last year.

Sales of passenger cars dropped 16.1 percent to 2.17 million units in November, but sales of commercial vehicles climbed 1.7 percent to 374,000 units.

Sedan sales were down 11.9 percent at 1.07 million vehicles. Sales of SUVs, usually the industry’s brightest spot, shrank 18.1 percent to 909,000 units. Multi-purpose vehicles declined 30.8 percent in November to 150,000 units.

“Car dealers’ profitability has fallen sharply this year compared with their profits last year,” said Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association.

“Dealers are under pressure and facing difficulties at the end of this year.

“Consumer demand will be relatively good before the (early February) Spring Festival as more people will buy cars at that time.

“Car prices bottom in December ahead of the Spring Festival, which will promote overall car sales to some extent.”

Despite a slack performance in the overall market, sales and production of new-energy vehicles maintained strong growth last month, boosted by government efforts to encourage the sector.

In November, sales of NEVs soared 37.6 percent to 169,000 units, while production jumped 36.9 percent to 173,000 units, according to CAAM.

Sales of electric vehicles rose 30.3 percent to 138,000 units while 31,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles were sold last month, a jump of 82.5 percent from a year earlier.

In the first 11 months of this year, NEV sales surged 68 percent year on year to 1.03 million vehicles. Production rose 63.6 percent year on year to about 1.05 million units.

“Sales of new-energy vehicles had a steady growth in November,” Cui said.

“The market is expected to see a boom in new-energy passenger cars at the end of this year, driven by an increase in NEV models in December.”




 

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