Vehicle Wholesales Continue to Shrink in China

Factory sales by Chinese car and truck makers fell 5% to 2.5 million units in March, according to the China Assn. of Automobile Manufacturers.

First-quarter shipments to dealers slid 11% to 6.37 million vehicles, marking the third consecutive quarter of year-on-year decline. CAAM says wholesales of passenger vehicles in January-March dropped 14%. Shipments of commercial vehicles rose 2%.

One bright spot: Shipment of electrics in the first quarter more than doubled to 299,000 units. Such vehicles accounted for 5% of total vehicle wholesales during the period.

CAAM says it cannot forecast when growth will return. Many analysts don’t expect sales to stabilize in China until the second half of the year, The Wall Street Journal says.