China’s vehicle sales grew 9.8% to 13.24 million in the first half of 2023, partly driven by a low base in the same period last year, an industry group announced on Tuesday. It left its 3% growth projection for the full year intact, reports Nikkei Asia. The growth was artificially high, especially in the second quarter due to the impact of the country’s zero-COVID lockdowns last year, and despite the price war launched by automakers earlier this year to gain market share.
“After experiencing the impact of the first quarter’s promotion drive and market price fluctuations, driven by the central and local government’s policies to promote consumption … the market demand has gradually recovered,” Xu Haidong, a spokesperson from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) told a news conference.
However, no question-and-answer period followed, and the industry group did not elaborate on a deal among 16 automakers to call off the price war last week, which was retracted two days later.
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