China’s car sales in May drop for 12th straight month

SHANGHAI, Jun 12 (SMM) – Sales in China’s auto market declined for the 12th straight month on a yearly basis in May, showed a survey on Tuesday June 11.

Retail sales of sedans, sport utility vehicles (SUV), minivans and multipurpose vehicles (MPV) fell 12.5% from a year ago to 1.61 million units in May, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). That followed a 16.6% decline in April and a 12% drop in March.

Excluding minivans, passenger car sales rose 4.8% from April to 1.58 million units, the largest month-on-month growth in May, likely bolstered by the efforts to clear inventories before new emission standards take effect in July.

The new energy vehicle (NEV) sector, meanwhile, remained robust. CPCA data showed that wholesales of new energy sedans, SUVs and MPVs came in at 97,000 units in May, up 5.8% from April and 5.4% from May 2018.

NEV sales stood at 442,000 units in the first five months of the year, up 58% from the same period last year.