Passenger car sales fall for 11th month in Apr

SHANGHAI, May 13 (SMM) – China's passenger car sales have decreased for the 11th consecutive month in April, on a yearly basis, as trade tensions and an economic slowdown kept depressing consumption. 

Retail sales of sedans, sport utility vehicles, minivans, and multi-purpose vehicles fell 16.6% on the year to 1.54 million units in April, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Friday May 10. This followed after a 12% decline in March and an 18.5% drop in February.

Sales excluding minivans posted 1.51 million units last month, down 13.8% from March and down 16.9% from April 2018. The month-on-month drop was the biggest among April’s sales data in recent years. 

"There's little hope for us to see positive signs for the auto market in the first half," said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of CPCA.

Data from CPCA on Thursday May 9 showed that retail sales of passenger cars averaged 44,275 units per day in April, down 18% year on year.

Separately, domestic wholesales of new energy vehicles stood at 91,000 units in April, down 17% from March but up 28.4% from April 2018, according to CPCA data.