Interest was not raised even by discounts
Passenger car sales in China fell 2.6 percent year-on-year to 1.79 million vehicles in July. It decreased for the second month in a row. Even discounts and government support measures did not convince buyers to buy more expensive consumer goods in economically uncertain times, when the housing market is also having problems. According to Reuters, this follows today’s data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). China is the largest car market in the world.
In June, passenger car sales in China fell by 2.9 percent. In the first seven months of the year, sales rose 1.7 percent to 11.44 million compared to the same period last year.
Chinese automakers continued to bet on overseas markets last month as growth slowed at home. Exports rose 63 percent year-on-year in July after already adding 56 percent in June.
The rivalry in the Chinese car market is growing. Automakers are struggling with weakening demand and deepening price competition. More than 40 brands participated in the price reduction initiated by the American Tesla at the beginning of the year – in July, the latest companies General Motors and Volkswagen reduced the prices of electric cars.
Loss of breath
Sales of alternative-powered cars called NEVs (New Energy Vehicles), which have fueled China’s auto sales growth until now, are also losing steam. Although it rose by 31.9 percent in July and accounted for 35.8 percent of total car sales, the segment saw sales decline by 3.6 percent compared to June.
Last year, China overtook Germany to become the world’s second largest exporter of cars. In the first quarter of this year, it dethroned Japan from the position of the world’s largest exporter of cars. It exported 1.07 million cars, which is 58 percent more year-on-year. 954,185 cars traveled from Japan to world markets, six percent more than in the same period last year.
source: ČTK
