Honda Motor has said its sales in China declined 5.3% in March to 58,611 units.

Sales for the first quarter rose 0.8% to 165,639 units from 164,401 units a year earlier, it said in a statement cited by Dow Jones.

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The company didn’t provide a reason for the March decline in sales but had said earlier it aimed to sell 730,000 vehicles this year, 12% more than in 2010. China’s auto sales growth is expected to slow to 10%-15% from last year’s 32.4% growth, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Honda said sales at Dongfeng Honda Automobile, its 50-50 joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group, rose 10.4% to 26,019 units in March while sales at Guangqi Honda Automobile, its 50-50 venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group, decreased 15% to 32,592 units last month.