Shanghai, July 23 (Gasgoo.com) China's top economic planning agency said today that the country's vehicle prices may continue to fall steadily in the second half of this year because the inventories are rising and dealers have to meet sales targets, media reported.
In the first six months, China's car prices dropped 1.18% from a year earlier, and automakers will likely join dealers in offering discounts in the fourth quarter, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission said today in a statement.
China's vehicle sales growth began to slow down in April after having risen every month since February 2009 to a record high of 1.7 million units in March 2010. Passenger-car sales in June rose 19% from a year earlier, the slowest pace since March 2009.
First-half auto sales grew 30.45% year on year to 7.18 million units, keeping the country the world's largest auto market, but sales in June dropped 5.25% from May, up 13.97% year on year. Auto production in the first half jumped 44.37% to 8.47 million.
In the second half of this year, demand in the Chinese auto market may fall from year-earlier levels, which will be sparking price wars as dealers compete to clear inventories, said industry analysts.
