Chart of the Day: Passenger Car Sales Skid Further
Sales of new passenger cars sank in February as the world’s largest auto market declined for the eighth straight month.
Retail sales dropped 17.4% year-on-year to 1.2 million units last month, the government-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Monday (link in Chinese).
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Last year, total yearly passenger car sales fell 5.8% to 22.35 million units — the first annual decline in 20 years, according to the China Passenger Car Association, an industry group.
The disappointing performance comes as rising property costs and a greater outflow of labor from third- and fourth-tier cities — which make up 59% of China’s gross domestic product and 73% of its population — have taken a toll on overall consumption.
Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (ziyitang@caixin.com)

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