Auto sales in China climbed 2.18 percent year on year to reach 1.28 million units in July, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
The country produced 1.31 million cars in July, up 1.26 percent from one year earlier.
For the first seven months, the combined auto sales topped 10.6 million units, a rise of 3.22 percent year on year, while the output reached 10.46 million units, up 2.33 percent.
The country's auto market boomed for the past few years but started to cool after the government removed tax incentives for the industry and several cities have tightened automobile purchase policies in an effort to combat traffic jams.
"The government may resume favorable policies to boost the auto market as an effort to spur the slowing economy," said Yu Tiantian, a researcher with Jilin North Automobile Industry Information Development Co. Ltd.
Dong Yang, Secretary General of the CAAM, expected auto sales in the second half of the year to be significantly higher than those of the first half.
September and October are usually the peak time for the car market, said Dong. |