(Yicai) June 30 -- Toyota Motor's sales tumbled by 32 percent in China for the fourth consecutive month in May, amid rising gasoline prices and other challenges in the world's biggest auto market.

Toyota sold 102,299 vehicles in China last month, down 3.9 percent from the previous month, the Japanese carmaker said yesterday. Its year-on-year sales have declined for four months in a row after falling 8 percent in February, 25 percent in March, and 32 percent in April.

Passenger car sales in China dropped 22 percent last month from a year earlier, but increased 9.2 percent from April, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.

The structural differentiation in the Chinese auto market has become particularly pronounced under the pressure of high fuel prices. Retail sales of new energy vehicles topped 950,000 units in May, with NEV adoption reaching 63 percent to stay above 60 percent for the second straight month, while retail sales of fuel cars dropped 39 percent to only 560,000 units.

In addition, China's car imports fell 19 percent to 38,000 units, said Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the CPCA. In the January to May period, the figure dropped 11 percent to 160,000 units from a year earlier, he added.

Despite Toyota's Lexus maintaining its position as the top imported luxury brand in China, sales still plunged 38 percent to 10,543 units last month from a year ago.

Behind Toyota's struggle lies a broader decline of Japanese car brands in China, with their retail sales in the country tumbling 35 percent to 158,081 units, while their market share shrank to 10.5 percent, data from the CPCA showed. Nissan Motor has reported a drop in sales for seven consecutive years, Honda Motor for five years, and Toyota since 2023.

Editor: Martin Kadiev