New vehicle sales in China fell by 2.8% to 28.08m units in 2018 from a record 28.88m units in the previous year, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
This was the first annual decline for the vehicle market since 1990 and was blamed on weakening consumer sentiment as a result of slowing economic growth, depressed stock markets and increasing trade friction between China and the US. Sales were also affected by the imposition of a 40% duty rate on imports from the US in July.
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Passenger vehicle sales last year fell by 4.1% to 23.71m units from 24.72m units in 2017 while commercial vehicle sales were estimated to have increased 5% to 4.37m units from 4.16m.
The vehicle market is expected to be one of the key beneficiaries of government stimulus this year as the Chinese central government looks to stimulate consumer spending to help the economy avoid a “hard landing”.
