Car sales decline, but Honda fares well

Car sales in China fell 10% last month, compared with the same time a year ago, according to preliminary data, the Financial Times reported. A Lehman Brothers research report said passenger car sales in China fell 10% year-on-year last month. It said the Olympics and weakening consumer confidence were factors. This would be the first time sales have fallen on a monthly basis since 2005. JD Power had cut its forecast for 2008 sales growth to 10% after several years of double-digit growth, but its chief China forecaster now says there is a chance that 2008 will see little or no growth in Chinese auto sales. The overall slowdown occurred at a time when US automakers had hoped growth in China would compensate for poor sales in the US market. Honda’s China sales, however, rose 19.4% in August as demand for its Accord sedan almost doubled, Bloomberg reported. Honda sold 38,726 vehicles in China last month, and its sales in the first eight months of the year rose 22.6%, to 309,561 units.