Passenger car sales growth hits 13-month low in May

Shanghai, June 8 (Gasgoo.com) China's passenger vehicle sales in May continued the monthly decline. Last month 1 million cars, MPVs, SUVs and minivans were sold in the Chinese market, up 23.2% from a year earlier, the lowest growth rate in the past 13 months, China Daily reported today, citing an industry group.

The passenger vehicle sales volume in May was down 5.9% from April, and this is the third monthly sales decline this year in China's passenger vehicle segment, according to the China Passenger Car Association. January sales hit 1.31 million, up 111% year on year.

The sluggish stock and property markets started to impact on auto sales, while the week-long halt in Honda's parts plant production also ate into sales figures, said Rao Da, secretary-general of the association. He predicted similar sales in June as many buyers will wait for automakers' price cuts in the second half.

Previously, industry analysts and automakers predicted sales growth of 20-25% this year, buoyed by 2009's market boom. In 2009, China's auto sales surged 46% to 13.6 million units driven by a slew of government incentives, making China the world's biggest auto market.

Hu Maoyuan, chairman of China's biggest automaker SAIC Group, said recently that he expected negative vehicle sales growth in the fourth quarter, and cut his prediction for China's 1010 auto sales to 15.5 million units, with sales growth of 12.6%.