China car sales set to rise 0.9 per cent in April, ending almost two years of declines, industry body predicts

Car sales are set to rise 0.9 per cent year-on-year to 2.0 million in April, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers

Sales between January and April in China are expected to fall 32.1 per cent year-on-year to 5.67 million

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Car sales are set to rise 0.9 per cent year-on-year to 2.0 million in April, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 3:28pm, 7 May 2020Updated: 5:28pm, 7 May 2020

Car sales in China likely rose in April from a year earlier, its top industry body said on Thursday, ending almost two years of declines and signalling that the world’s biggest market is recovering from the coronavirus shock.

April’s sales of 2 million units likely pushed sales up 0.9 per cent from a year earlier, and 39.8 per cent from March, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in a post on its official WeChat account.

It added its forecast was based on sales data it had collected from key companies, without giving further details.

A gain in April would be the first rise in sales in China after 21 straight months of decline as the world’s second-largest economy slowed.

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In March, China’s car sales fell 40.8 per cent from a year earlier to 1.08 million units.

Still, the association expects vehicle sales in January to April to fall 32.1 per cent year-on-year to 5.67 million units, after the government rolled out tough restrictions earlier in the year to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Many of the curbs on people’s movement have been rolled back in the past two months, allowing would-be buyers to visit showrooms again, while some local governments are offering incentives to revive car sales.