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June 11, 2015

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Cooling economy hurts auto sales

Source: AFP | June 11, 2015, Thursday | Print Edition

CHINA’S auto sales fell slightly on a year-on-year basis in May, an industry group said yesterday, as a slowing economy prompts manufacturers to cut prices and trim production in the world’s largest car market.

Auto sales in China slipped 0.4 percent year on year to 1.9 million units last month, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said.

“It is worth noting that both production and sales were lower than the levels last year,” Chen Shihua, director of CAAM’s industry information department, told a news conference.

He added that the twin falls in output and sales in May marked the first time this year that both had fallen annually.

Production shed 0.58 percent to 1.96 million vehicles in May, according to CAAM.

For the first five months of this year, sales performed better, rising 2.11 percent year on year to 10.05 million units, it said.

In the January-May period, passenger car sales alone gained 6.36 percent year on year to 8.58 million, but rose just 1.2 percent in May to 1.61 million, CAAM said.

The passenger car market was supported by healthy sales of sport-utility vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles, according to CAAM.

“Growth in the first five months, like in the first four months, was driven mainly by SUV and MPV sales,” Chen said, adding that domestic brands had benefited from the preference for larger vehicles.

General Motors said it sold 252,567 vehicles in China for May, down 4 percent from a year earlier.

GM said it will respond to consumer preferences with new products in the SUV, MPV and luxury segments.

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