(Yicai Global) Dec. 10 -- Sales in China's passenger car market slid 4.1 percent annually in November, marking 17 months of decline in the past 18 as consumers shy away from big-ticket purchases.

Retail sales tallied less than 1.94 million during the month as the pace of deterioration slowed 2 percentage points from October, the China Passenger Car Association said in a report yesterday.

A bleak economic outlook and rising prices in staple goods like pork were the biggest factors keeping buyers at bay, the CPCA's Secretary General Cui Dongshu said, though he attributed some of the fall to increased property sales in China's central and western regions.

December has 22 working days and the Chinese New Year falls in January, the report added, which should give a boost to this month's sales. The nation's auto market often fares well in the month ahead of the Lunar New Year, which marks a week-long national holiday in China and tends to slow down sales.

Wealthy buyers appeared unaffected by the recent inflation, with luxury vehicle sales bucking the trend to rise 19 percent on the year. Sales at China's independent carmakers, typically the cheapest in the country, dived 9 percent while those at China-foreign joint ventures dipped 4 percent.

Joint ventures still led the way in terms of total vehicles sold, with FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC-Volkswagen selling 206,700 and 196,000 cars. Local manufacturer Geely, based in Zhejiang, shifted 141,100 units to rank third.

Among vehicle types, multi-purpose vehicles were the biggest loser, sliding 16.5 percent to 116,000 units sold in November. Sedans fell 9 percent to 932,000 while sports-utility vehicles, one the driving force behind the local market, dipped 3.7 percent to 888,000. 

NEVs Lose Spark

Wholesales of new-energy passenger vehicles in China dived 41.7 percent to just 79,000 in November, hampered by the end of government subsidies in June for plug-in hybrids and a shortage of cars that meet the China 6 emission standards.

The rollout of the new China 6 standards nationwide is scheduled to take place over two phases. The China 6a standards for licensing and registration are due to take effect across the country from July 1, 2020. The second stage, China 6b, will make Chinese emission requirements even stricter than those in Europe and will come into play three years later.

Editor: James Boynton