Chinese car sales gain at slow pace
Print Edition
CHINA’S auto sales growth slowed in April, and customers may again benefit from another round of price war by dealers to drive sales.
Total deliveries of passenger cars and commercial vehicles grew 6.3 percent last month to 2.12 million units, slower than the 8.8 percent year-on-year increase in March. The passenger car market, making the bulk of the sales, rose 6.5 percent in April versus 9.8 percent in March, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said yesterday.
The slowdown in the sales growth showed signs of depressing demand, Zou Tianlong, UBS Securities analyst, said in a note yesterday.
Chinese auto sales growth peaked at 45 percent in 2009 and has fallen steadily as cities try to control smog and congestion with limits on new vehicles.
Automakers sold 24.6 million vehicles in China in 2015, up 4.7 percent. It was the smallest increase in three years, following gains of 6.9 percent and 13.9 percent in 2014 and 2013 respectively.
In October, China sought to boost the market by slashing the purchase tax on passenger cars with small engines.
Sales of passenger cars with engines smaller than 1.6 liters rose 12.1 percent in April from a year earlier to 1.28 million units, CAAM said in a statement.
The rough patch that China’s auto market went through last year starting from spring, which saw tepid demand followed by heavy price discounts, might be looming again.
“Our latest research shows that carmakers are all set to cut prices to fight for market share once they find the demand decreasing,” said Zou.
“We think over the next quarter or two, the industry will face the risk of another round of price reductions.”
Some foreign automakers outperformed the overall market.
General Motors said it sold 277,979 vehicles in April, up 7.5 percent year on year.
But another US automaker Ford said its sales fell 11 percent to 82,324 units last month, according to a statement.
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