SAIC sales heading south
SAIC Motor Corporation Limited sold a total of 480,926 vehicles in May this year in China, down 16.3 percent year on year, according to a statement on the Shanghai Stock Exchange website Tuesday.
SAIC Motor Corporation Limited delivered a total of 2,470,757 vehicles in the first five months this year in China, down 16.7 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the statement.
Sales of SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co and SAIC General Motors Co both declined. In the first five months, SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co sold 765,097 vehicles, down 9.3 percent year on year. SAIC General Motors Co delivered 693,683 vehicles from January to May, down 15.2 percent.
China's auto industry is under great pressure and has entered a period of slow growth hit by macroeconomic factors and weak market sentiment. Auto sales fell last year for the first time in more than two decades, dropping 2.8 percent to 28.1 million, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
The association will hold a press conference in Beijing tomorrow and release detailed sales figures. Auto sales totalled 8.35 million units in the first four months, down 12.1 percent from the same period last year.