China's Vehicle Demand Forecast to Fall for Second Straight Year
- Industry body predicts negative growth with no sign of rebound
- Electric-car sales buck the trend, rising in first five months
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China’s vehicle demand is expected to decline for the second straight year, extending a historic slump as customers delay purchases amid trade tensions with the U.S., industry watchers said.
Passenger-car sales will probably drop 5% in 2019, researcher LMC Automotive estimated, after the first annual decline in more than two decades last year. Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., which builds sport-utility vehicles, sedans and minivans, forecast overall vehicle deliveries will fall by the same margin. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers predicted “negative growth," with no sign of a rebound.