Honda China sales down 5.3% at 58611 units in March

Dow Jones Newswires (Beijing) - Japanese auto maker Honda Motor Co.(HMC) said Wednesday its auto sales in China declined 5.3% in March to 58,611 units. 

Sales for the first quarter rose 0.8% to 165,639 units from 164,401 units a year earlier, it said in a statement.

The company didn't provide a reason for the decline in sales last month. Honda said earlier it aims to sell 730,000 vehicles this year, 12% more than in 2010, while China's auto sales growth is expected to slow to 10%-15% from last year's 32.4% growth, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Honda said sales at Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co., its 50-50 joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co., rose 10.4% to 26,019 units in March, and sales at Guangqi Honda Automobile Co., its 50-50 venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., decreased 15% to 32,592 units last month.