Car sales growth better than expected in Q1
April 18, 2017 Category Automotive, Weekly
China’s auto sales grew 7% in the first quarter, the strongest January-March period since 2014. Many in the industry had feared that sales would be weak in the first three months after the government rolled back a tax cut on small-engine cars on January 1, contributing to expectations for a slowdown in 2017 sales. But first-quarter growth outpaced the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers’ prediction in January that auto sales would grow 5% in 2017, and the market is expected to improve further as the year progresses. “Our current attitude should be cautiously optimistic, as in reality we still feel there is pressure,” said Xu Haidong, CAAM Spokesman. Vehicle sales rose 4% year-on-year in March to 2.5 million vehicles. Ford predicts that China’s overall auto sales will be flat or down slightly this year. General Motors’ China sales in the first quarter fell 5.2% year-on-year, mainly due to the impact of the tax cut reduction. Automakers with a steady stream of new models, particularly in the hot-selling sport-utility vehicle (SUV) segment like Japan’s Honda Motor, continue to lead the market. Honda said its sales grew 16.6% in the first quarter, the Shanghai Daily reports.
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