(Yicai Global) Sept. 10 -- China sold about 1.6 million passenger cars in the retail market last month, down almost 10 percent from the same time last year, while sales overall fell nearly 9 percent to 13 million units in the first eight months, according to a report the China Passenger Car Association released yesterday.

About 15 percent fewer sedans sold, down to 760,000 units last month, while sport utility vehicle sales dipped 1.8 percent to 706,000 units, and multi-purpose vehicles -- large hatchbacks that seat six or more passengers -- plummeted 21.6 percent to 98,000.

The second-quarter inventory clearance of vehicles under China's fifth-phase emission standards had an hangover effect on last month's numbers, said the CPCA, which has dual-headquarters in Beijing and Shanghai,and most automobile original equipment manufacturers were on holiday because of extreme weather that included high heat and typhoons, which also dampened consumer enthusiasm, the trade group noted.

Sales of FAW-Volkswagen Automobile, SAIC Volkswagen Automotive and Dongfeng Nissan passenger vehicles took the top three slots with 166,000, 161,000 and 108,000 units, respectively. Premium cars' retail sales swam against the tide, jumping 12.4 percent in August, as those of mainstream joint-venture brands fell by 10.5 percent and proprietary marques dropped 14 percent.

The wholesale volume of new energy passenger vehicles was 71,000 units last month, down by 15.5 percent from a year earlier. Battery electric vehicle purchases stagnated, while plug-in hybrid car sales dropped 46 percent. Falling subsidies at the end of June caused soaring sales costs, which were difficult for all segments from production and sales to digest.

Production and sales are set to rebound this month with the coming Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, predicted the CPCA, which also expects NEVs to gradually recover their growth after a short-term decline as older models exit the market, new EVs develop enhanced performance, and plug-in hybrid models' price/performance ratios greatly improve. 

Editor: Ben Armour