Automobile sales in China fell about 14% in November from a year ago, steepest in nearly seven years and the fifth straight decline in monthly numbers.
Car
makers in China are bracing for zero to tepid growth in sales
this year, after a tough 2018 when the world's top auto market
probably contracted for the first time in two decades, as slowing
economic growth drags on demand.
Companies
from homegrown Geely to Britain's biggest automaker Jaguar
Land Rover have in recent days flagged caution about China sales
in 2019, hit also by Beijing's trade war with the United States.
"We
should notice the big uncertainties among macro economy and trade
tensions, which hit the auto market in China last year and may happen
again this year," Yale Zhang, head of consultancy AutoForesight,
told Reuters.
China's
top auto industry association expects the country to sell 28 million
vehicles in 2019, steady versus 2018, while other government and
industry bodies see a 0-2 per cent growth.
China's
Association of Automobile Manufacturers is expected to announce later
on Monday that China's car market contracted in 2018, the first time
since 1990.
Automobile
sales in China fell about 14 per cent in November from a year ago,
steepest in nearly seven years and the fifth straight decline in
monthly numbers.
The
data adds to worries for investors, already spooked by signs of a
broader drop in demand from the world's No.2 economy, especially
after Apple issued a rare revenue warning citing weak iPhone sales in
the country.
Analysts
are, however, counting on measures promised by China to buoy spending
for some relief.
For
a graphic on monthly auto sales in China in 2018, see:
https://tmsnrt.rs/2Omlt8r
Beijing
boost
China's
state planner has said it will introduce policies to lift domestic
spending on items such as autos, without providing specifics. Beijing
has also made changes to the income tax threshold to hike incomes
and personal spending power.
This
could help resolve the industry's current issues of unsold inventory,
drive sales growth and provide relief to the economic pressures China
is facing, said Patrick Yuan, Hong Kong-based analyst at Jefferies.
"With
that, car sales growth could recover to as high as 7 per cent"
this year, he said.
According
to Alan Kang, an LMC Automotive analyst, demand could also draw
support as consumers stop putting their buying decisions on hold in
hopes Beijing will reintroduce purchase tax cuts on smaller cars - a
policy it phased out last year.
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