Passenger vehicle sales recover in first half

Potential buyers try a new car at an auto expo in Beijing. Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily

The nation's passenger vehicle sales surged 19.4 percent year-on-year in June, much higher than 9.5 percent from the January-June period, the China Passenger Car Association announced on Friday.

The association said the higher-than-expected growth rate was thanks to a recovery from the low sales recorded in June of 2015 in the wake of the stock market crash.

"We do not need to worry about (passenger car sales) this year," said Zhang Yu, managing director of Automotive Foresight Co.

Zhang predicted "double-digit growth" for passenger cars in July and August.

He also predicted a 35 percent to 40 percent year-on-year growth in the sport utility vehicle sector, and 10 percent growth for the multipurpose vehicle segment in the second half of the year.

China's economy last year was not performing well starting around March and the stock market crash made the auto market perform very badly from June to August. Most of last year's car sales came in the fourth quarter, he said.

The association reported that 875,692 cars, 615,428 SUVs, 162,138 MPVs and 45,723 minivans were sold in June.

Heading the domestic sales league were FAW Volkswagen Automobile Co, SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co and SAIC GM Corporation Ltd. They were the top three leaders in June, accounting for 143,071 units, 140,131 units and 122,792 units, respectively.

New-energy vehicle sales reached 33,000 units in June, up 160 percent year-on-year. The association said mini electric cars were the main contributor.

Inventory levels remained stable from May to June and all the major automakers were free from inventory overstocking this year, the association said.

From June, the serious flooding in many regions of China, including the Yangtze River basin, was expected to boost demand for new cars, so high growth in sales in the coming two months would continue, the association said.

The associated expected higher sales of NEVs in the next couple of years, because of the government's current moves to offer financial support for the sector.