China's auto sales growth decelerated sharply in April and domestic automakers regained market share from their global rivals, an industry group reported Monday.
Automakers are looking to China, the biggest auto market by number of vehicles sold, to drive future revenue, but sales growth has declined steadily as the country's economic expansion cools.
Auto sales rose 3.7 percent over the same time last year to 1.7 million vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. That was down from 9.4 percent in March and double-digit rates last year.
Total vehicle sales, including trucks and buses, contracted by 0.5 percent to 2 million vehicles.
Chinese automakers expanded their market share by 3.8 percentage points to 41.1 percent. They are rebounding on the strength of a wave of new models after spending the past two years losing share to global brands.
SUVs, a segment in which low-cost Chinese brands are especially popular, showed more strong sales growth, rising 48.5 percent over a year earlier to 461,600 vehicles. Sales of sedans fell 9.6 percent to 932,000 vehicles.
- General Motors Co. said sales of GM-brand vehicles by the company and its Chinese joint venture partners declined 0.4 percent to 258,484 vehicles.
- Sales of Ford Motor Co. vehicles rose a fraction of 1 percent to 96,889 vehicles.
- Nissan Motor Co., the most popular Japanese brand in China, said sales declined 19.4 percent to 95,500 vehicles.
- BMW AG, Europe's biggest luxury brand, said sales rose 6.4 percent to 115,078 vehicles.