© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Motorists drive in rush hour traffic on a road in Hualien, Taiwan April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s passenger vehicle sales shrank 14.1% in January from the prior month, the first such slide since August, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Thursday.
Sales totalled 2.05 million units, up 57.1% from a year earlier.
Battery electric vehicle sales sagged 37% in January from the month before, far below expectations, a main source of pressure on auto market growth, said Cui Dongshu, the association’s secretary general.
A price war among automakers will remain fierce in 2024, Cui predicted. More than 40 brands joined the price war that was triggered by Tesla (NASDAQ:) in China throughout 2023.
Demand faltered in the world’s largest auto market despite a renewed discounting push led by Tesla at the start of 2024.
