China Bans Below-Cost Car Sales to End Prolonged Price War

China has banned carmakers from pricing vehicles below cost, intensifying its crackdown on a persistent price war that’s engulfed the world’s largest auto market.

In a final set of guidelines released Thursday, the State Administration for Market Regulation effectively banned automakers from selling vehicles below their total cost of production. That includes not just a company’s factory-floor expenses, but administrative, financial and sales overheads.