China’s vehicles sales fell for ninth straight month in March, fuelling consumption concerns
- Total automotive sales fell to 2.52 million in March, 5.2 per cent down from a year earlier, new data showed on Friday
- Despite consecutive slumps, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said that the decline has been ‘significantly reduced’
China’s vehicles sales fell for the ninth straight month in March, a further decline that could dampen the world’s second largest economy’s efforts to bolster consumption and counter slowing economic growth.
Total vehicle sales fell to 2.52 million in March, 5.2 per cent down from a year earlier, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Friday.
Meanwhile passenger vehicle sales, which includes sedan, minivans, sports utility and crossover utility vehicles but excludes commercial vehicles, fell to 2.02 million last month, 6.9 per cent down from March last year, according to China’s biggest automotive industry association. Passenger vehicle sales fell 13.7 per cent in the first quarter overall.
Despite nine months of consecutive slumps, the CAAM said that the decline has been “significantly reduced”.
To help offset effects of the US-China trade war, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said during this year’s National People’s Congress that China would cut the value-added tax rate for manufacturing firms, an “unprecedented” move to spur consumer spending to stabilise the growth.