Sales of new cars in China slow for second straight month

The Mainichi Daily News - Auto sales in China slowed in March for the second straight month, rising less than 10 percent following double-digit increases in previous months, industry figures showed Sunday.

Sales of new vehicles rose 5.4 percent year-on-year in March following a 4.6 rise in February, as demand softened after the government ended a tax break program for the purchase of small cars.

The China Automobile Manufacturers Association said 1,828,500 new cars were sold in March, bringing the sales figure for the first quarter to 4,983,800, up 8.1 percent from the previous year.

The government program to encourage the purchase of fuel-efficient small cars through tax relief and other measures ended last December.

Also, the city of Beijing has imposed restrictions on car ownership in a bid to ease traffic congestion.

China retained its position as the world's largest auto market for the 25th straight month, with more than 1 million new cars sold each month.

Among the Japanese automakers, which account for roughly 20 percent of the Chinese market, sales of Toyota cars rose 37.4 percent from the previous year, while those of Nissan cars went up 17 percent.

But sales of Honda and Mazda cars went down for the second straight month, with Honda off 5.3 percent and Mazda off 6 percent.

An official of the auto manufacturers association said the Chinese auto industry could take a hit if there is an interruption of supplies from Japanese parts makers stricken by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Chinese automakers rely on the Japanese manufacturers for the supply of integrated circuitries and a substantial proportion of other car components.