China's auto market could shrink about 8% this year - CAAM

Auto sales in China may skid to 26 million this year, a drop of around 8%, a senior industry executive warned, as the world’s largest auto market braces for a second year of contraction amid slowing economic growth and tighter vehicle emissions standards.

The latest prediction, by Fu Bingfeng, executive vice chairman of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), is lower than the group’s previous forecast for a 5% drop, issued in July.

Amid gathering gloom over the global auto industry’s biggest growth story of the last 20 years, carmakers like General Motors, Ford and Peugeot SA have all reported double-digit percentage sales declines. Some smaller firms have even started to shut down capacity and seek consolidation.

“For this year, we now expect to see if we can hold on to (sales of) 26 million vehicles,” Fu told.

Fu said sales declines should be viewed as part of the industry’s transformation towards higher production standards, lower-emission cars and new energy vehicles (NEVs), adding the association was still ultimately bullish about the future prospects of the market.