China’s car sales tumbled for a second year in a row as the slowing economy and the nation’s trade disputes with the US took a toll on consumer sentiment, reported the Financial Times.
It means the slump in the world’s biggest car market is entering its third year after reversing for the first time in 2018 since 1990.
The drop in sales was 8.2% to 25.8 million vehicles in 2019. This followed a 2.8% fall to 28.1 million in 2018 compared with the previous year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Analysts said vehicle sales had fallen victim to the economic downturn that prompted consumers to cancel or delay the purchase of big ticket items. China’s gross domestic product growth fell to 6%, the lowest in 30 years in the third quarter of 2019.