Ministry Sees Slow Growth Ahead for China Auto Sales

China’s auto industry is entering a period of slower production and sales rates, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reports.

“The period of fast expansion may be over, and slow growth is likely to be the new normal,” says Xin Guobin, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Growth in car wholesales through the first nine months of 2018 slowed to 2%, and production rose only 1%, according to the China Assn. of Automobile Manufacturers. Monthly sales have been declining year-on-year from July, including an 11% drop last month.

But Xin predicts continued, if muted growth in China’s car sales. He points to the replacement market and the potential for sales in the country’s second- and third-tier cities.