Update 1-China August passenger car sales down 5 pct

(Updated with additional information and comments from CPCA)

Shanghai, September 8 (Gasgoo.com) China's passenger vehicle sales fell 5.4% year on year and 6.0% month on month, data from China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows.

Passenger vehicle sales totaled 434,271 units in August, including 335,296 units sedans (-0.6%), 12,255 MPVs (-28.7%), 28,855 SUVs (-0.8%) and 57,865 units minivans (-5.7%).

In the passenger car segment no automaker saw its sales exceed 40,000 units in August (minivans and crossovers excluded), with FAW VW leads the market with 39,215 units sold in the month both at home market and abroad.

It was followed by Shanghai GM, with 33,124 units sold in the month. Shanghai VW finished up third with 31,059 units sold.

Car sales in Asia's largest auto market slowed as rising fuel prices damped demand and people delayed purchases during the Beijing Olympics. Some automakers also gave summer breaks to workers in July and August, which too contribute to the slowdown in sales result.

Overall vehicle sales in August fell 3% year on year and 13% month on month at 650,000 units, according to preliminary figures acquired by Guangzhou Daily without providing specific figures.

Sales of commercial vehicles marked down significantly following a price rise pushed up by the implementation of the China III emission standards as of July 1.