CAAM: China car sales in China dropped 18.7% YoY in January

SHANGHAI, Feb 27 (SMM) – Sales of automobiles in China dropped 18.7% year on year to 1.93 million units in January, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Wednesday.

Sales stood at 2.66 million units in December, up 8.2% month on month and down just 0.1% year on year as the festive season and motor shows spurred purchases. The earlier-than-usual Lunar New Year holiday, meanwhile, brought forward the high sales season.

In January, sales of passenger vehicles fell 27.4% from a month ago and 20.6% from a year ago to 1.61 million units.

Given the COVID-19 outbreak, production and sales of automobiles in China are expected to see a larger decline in February, the CAAM noted in the report.