Automakers, Dealers Struggle with Sales Slump - Caixin Media
(Beijing) – Auto manufacturers and dealers who for years enjoyed a booming market in China have caught a chill after a long summer of unusually slow sales. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said nationwide auto sales declined 16. 6 percent in July from the previous month to 1. 5 million units. That was the market's fourth straight month-on-month sales decline. Makers of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicles weathered a combined 1. 7 percent sales decline in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. Audi's China sales fell 12. 5 percent in July year-on-year, while BMW sales were off 6. 2 percent. But that wasn't enough to prevent sales of Tata's luxury brands to fall 37 percent to just 5,409 units that month. "Price cuts cannot stop the decline," said a Beijing auto agent who declined to be named. And an auto dealership chief who asked not to be named said his company has stopped placing new orders, blaming the decision on slow sales, bloated inventories and "the macroeconomic environment. Source: english.caixin.com
