China's Auto Prices Rise Slightly in May: NDRC

BEIJING, Jun. 17 --  Auto prices in China rose slightly year-on-year in May, according to sales statistics of 36 major cities released by the price monitoring center under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Sunday.

In May, prices of the country's domestically made automobiles edged up 1.04 percent year-on-year, but dropped 0.24 percent month-on-month, a statement posted on the NDRC website said.

Imported vehicle prices continue to climb in May, up 6.18 percent year-on-year and 2.44 percent month-on-month, according to the statement.

Last month, passenger vehicle prices rose 0.46 percent year-on-year but fell 0.73 percent from April this year.

In May, commercial vehicle prices rose 1.75 percent year-on-year and 0.41 percent month-on-month.

The NDRC price monitoring center predicted that, after much volatility, imported vehicle prices would stabilize.

Climbing stockpiles of domestically made automobiles may push auto prices down in the short run, but the price drop would not be huge given the recent decline in oil prices and the government's preferential policies towards new energy vehicles, the center said.