New vehicle sales in mainland China rose by 2.3% to 2.09m units in November, from 2.04m units in the same month of last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
This brings the cumulative 11-month total to 21.08m units, up by 6.1% compared with the 19.86m units sold previously.
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CAAM now expects full year sales to grow by just 6%-7% to 23.5m units in 2014, half the growth rate of last year when sales reached 21.98m units.
Dealers have seen their vehicle stocks rise steadily over the last several months. They have increasingly responded to the slowing market growth by offering heavy discounts in the hope of meeting year end targets and qualifying for annual bonuses from distributors.
These bonuses can account for up to half of their annual profits which can make it worthwhile for dealers to sell vehicles even at a loss in some cases.
General Motors’ joint ventures reported a combined 5.3% sales increase to 310,094 units in November, reflecting strong sales by Shanghai-GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling, while Ford’s sales were up by close to 2% at 100,834 units.
Toyota reported a 2.9% rise in sales 92,300 units while Nissan’s sales fell by 11.8% to 116,800 units and Honda’s sales were more than 12% lower at 72,973 units.
