China car market again records fewer car deliveries
The crucial Chinese car market continues to struggle to gain momentum. Preliminary July figures show fewer passenger car deliveries than the same month last year. Retail sales to consumers fell by two percent to 1.73 million cars, according to the China Passenger Car Association (PCA) in Beijing. This was in line with the association's estimates from nearly two weeks ago.
The world's largest car market had already seen a slowdown in the preceding months. However, for the first seven months, there is still a two percent increase to 11.6 million passenger cars sold.
Consumers in China, however, continue to enthusiastically embrace battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Retail sales of "New Energy Vehicles" (NEVs) increased by 37 percent year-on-year to 879,000 cars in July. Domestic electric car manufacturers like BYD are putting significant pressure on foreign providers with their low production costs, causing Volkswagen to lose its market leadership in the country after decades.
However, even providers of more expensive internal combustion engine cars such as Mercedes, BMW, and VW's subsidiary Porsche AG are currently struggling due to the challenging economic environment. As the world's largest car market, China is also the most important single market for German car manufacturers.
Despite the challenges in the traditional Chinese car market, Chinese consumers show a growing interest in electric vehicles. Last month, sales of "New Energy Vehicles" (NEVs) increased significantly, with Chinese brands like BYD gaining market share.
Interestingly, even premium car brands like Mercedes, BMW, and Porsche face difficulties in the Chinese market, reflecting the overall economic climate in the world's largest car market.
