The Shanghai-based China Passenger Car Association reported that sales of passenger cars fell 10.3% in January from the month before to 965,238 units.
However, on an annual basis, sales rose 12.6%.
While Chinese bought 13.7 million passenger vehicles last year, up by a third from 2009, that sort of increase is not forecast this year, China Car Times reports.
This is due, in part, to the expiration of tax incentives for some vehicle purchases, and also to a renewed effort by cities to bring traffic under control.
A report from the Passenger Car Association said sales in February are bound to decline due to the usual slump following the Lunar New Year holiday.
Rao Da, head of the association, criticized the current policy, which he said, was “encouraging car purchases while restricting car use.”
