Gasgoo.com (Shanghai December 17) - Following a through inspection of 36 cities, the National Development and Reform Commission's Price Monitoring Center has come to the conclusion that automobile prices in November have noticeably decreased, Caijing reported today.
According to NDRC studies, November prices of domestic vehicles fell 0.16 percent from the previous month and 1.19 percent from November 2010. Both passenger and commercial vehicles were affected, with prices of foreign vehicles also falling.
Overall prices of passenger vehicles fell 0.10 percent from October and 1.88 percent from 2010, with the small car segment decreasing the most at 0.49 percent. SUV prices, meanwhile, fell 0.27 percent and 1.15 percent from the previous month and year, respectively.
Average commercial vehicle prices were 0.20 percent lower than they were in October, with prices of tractor trailers falling a considerable 0.60 percent.
2011 has been a unique year for the automobile industry in that prices have fallen across the board, said Cheng Xiaodong, an analyst at the NDRC's Price Monitoring Center. In previous years, such a price fall would be limited both in size and scale. While the price of a typical mid-class car would not be cut by more than 40,000 yuan in the past, this year cuts of up to 50,000 yuan ($7,815) are more common. With no definite forecasts on the market in 2012, Mr. Cheng advises automobile manufacturers to be cautious about instituting price changes. However, he predicts that the downward trend in prices will continue for the near future.
