(Yicai) Aug. 25 -- Foreign luxury and ultra-luxury carmakers will be absent from the 28th Chengdu International Automobile Exhibition, further demonstrating the waning interest of Chinese customers in traditional luxury vehicles.

Bentley, Lamborghini, Lotus, Porsche, and Rolls-Royce attended the Chengdu Motor Show last year, featuring in the luxury hall. However, as the luxury hall was canceled this year, the five ultra-luxury brands decided to skip the event.

The Chengdu Motor Show is one of China’s four tier-A auto shows. Set to be held at the Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center from Aug. 29 to Sept. 7, this year’s edition will feature nearly 120 automotive brands.

Other luxury foreign carmakers, such as Genesis, Infiniti, Jaguar Land Rover, Lexus, and Maserati, will also be absent at this year’s Chengdu Motor Show. Infiniti and Maserati skipped last year’s edition, too.

China’s imports of ultra-luxury vehicles grew steadily in the past but started declining in 2023, with the drop accelerating last year and in the first half of this year, mainly because of a temporary slowdown in purchasing power among the ultra-high-end consumer group, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.

Sales of Ferrari totaled 1,223 units in 2022 but dropped 28 percent to 881 units last year, with the figure for the first half of this year reaching 384 units. Bentley and Rolls-Royce sold 1,228 and 789 units last year, down 36 percent and 48 percent, respectively, from 2022. In the six months ended June 30.

Maserati had one of the worst performances among foreign ultra-luxury carmakers in the period, with sales down 75 percent to 1,228 last year from 2022.

China’s retail sales of luxury cars fell to about 170,000 units in July, down 20 percent from a year earlier and 29 percent from June, according to CPCA data. The share of luxury auto brands shrank to 9.3 percent last month from 12.3 percent in the same period last year, with foreign luxury brands facing even more pressure than domestic ones.

Editor: Futura Costaglione