SHANGHAI, Apr 27 (SMM) - The PMI for the automobile sector stood at 50.12 in April, down 0.44 point month on month, but up 3.24 points year on year. The seasonally-adjusted composite index came in at 49.25, an increase of 0.26 point MoM and 3.36 points YoY. The index for production stood at 51.73, up 1.67 points on a monthly basis and 7.99 points on a yearly basis. The index for new orders fell 2.86 points month on month, but rose 1.43 points year on year to 48.95. Automakers kept 30.68 days of raw material inventories on average in April, down 0.02 day MoM. The number of days of raw material inventories is for reference only as the survey sample may have changed.
Chinese Auto Market Hard Hit by A Series of Headwinds
Backlog orders enabled automakers to maintain high production this month. The auto industry is still in the off-season. Although some regions have extended consumption stimulus policies, the overall new orders declined compared with last month. Raw material purchasing volumes by automakers fell slightly from last month. Most automakers restocked only as needed amid continuous decline in raw material prices, with only a few stocking up.

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