BEIJING, Aug 7: Japan’s Nissan Motor reported its first monthly decline in vehicle sales in China this year as the traditional summer lull coincided with reduced demand for foreign brands in the world’s biggest car market.
China’s once red-hot car market is slowing under the weight of a cooling economy and is expected to post a single-digit growth rate in 2012 for a second year.
Nissan sold 98,100 vehicles in China last month, down 2 percent from a year earlier, the company said on Tuesday.
Toyota Motor’s China car sales also headed south in July, while General Motors’ flagship car venture in Shanghai reported a mere 5.7 percent gain in sales, a fraction of the 14.4 pace a year earlier.
‘The summer months are the most sluggish season for automakers, and growth always slows a bit in July and August. The market is also declining as the Chinese economy has lost some of its vigour,’ said Zhang Xin, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities.
From January to July, Nissan sold 776,100 vehicles in China, up 11.7 percent from a year earlier.
Sales at its venture with Dongfeng Automobile Group Co climbed 1.3 percent to 524,900 vehicles during the period, more than half of the venture’s full-year target of 1 million vehicles.
Mazda Motor’s July China car sales declined 12 percent, while Honda Motor’s deliveries edged up 1.3 percent.
(agencies)
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