Shi Jianhua, vice secretary general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), has stated that, following the negative growth seen for the first time in automotive vehicle sales in China in the January-October period of the current year, automotive vehicle sales in China will likely indicate negative growth for the full year of 2018 due to the high sales volumes recorded in November and December last year.
Mr. Shi said the slowdown in domestic investment, low consumption confidence, stricter environmental protection measures, higher emissions standards and ongoing trade frictions between China and the US have exerted a negative impact on China’s automotive industry.
As 2019, Mr. Shi predicted that Chinese automotive consumption will remain weak, that the slowdown in China’s GDP growth will negatively affect the automotive industry, and that the trade frictions between the US and China will reduce the buying power of Chinese consumers. He added that China’s automotive industry is unlikely to record any positive growth in 2019, though zero growth is possible.