Passenger car sales in China slump in July

Sales of passenger cars in China last month declined from a year ago, a leading industry association said yesterday.

Retail sales of passenger vehicles, including sedans, sport-utility vehicles, and multipurpose vehicles, dropped 6.2 percent year on year to 1.5 million units in July, the China Passenger Car Association said.

However, the sales were 1 percent higher compared with the same period in 2019.

On a monthly basis, sales fell 4.9 percent, the association said. Passenger vehicle sales in the first seven months were 11.45 million units, a 22.9-percent rise year on year.

The robust year-on-year growth for the January-July period was due to the low base last year when passenger car retail sales dropped 19 percent.

New-energy vehicle sales also contributed to the growth.

Retail sales of passenger NEVs were 222,000 units, up 169.4 percent year on year. The wholesale volume of new-energy passenger vehicles grew 202.9 percent year on year to 246,000 units.

Luxury car sales fell 18 percent year on year in July to 200,000. But compared with the same month in 2019, they rose 7 percent.