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SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Feb 8 (Reuters) – China’s passenger automotive gross sales fell 37.9% in January, an auto business physique mentioned on Wednesday, as demand weakened after a tax lower on combustion engine automobiles and electric-vehicle subsidies expired.
Gross sales of latest power automobiles, together with purely electrical automobiles and plug-in hybrids, fell 6.3% in January, accounting for 1 / 4 of the entire 1.3 million automotive gross sales within the month, CPCA information confirmed.
Chinese language folks additionally celebrated a full week of the Lunar New 12 months vacation within the month, making it a quieter January in contrast with earlier years.
Regardless of of indicators of easing demand on the earth’s largest automotive market, China’s central authorities didn’t lengthen a 50% buy tax lower on combustion engine automobiles when it expired on the finish of December.
It additionally determined to finish a greater than decade-long nationwide subsidy for electrical car purchases, forcing automakers together with Tesla to deepen reductions to defend their market shares.
China’s auto market is extra reliant on numerous of incentives from native governments to encourage purchases. Shanghai prolonged a ten,000-yuan rebate for individuals who alternate their oil automobiles for electrical ones whereas cities of Zhengzhou, Wuxi, Shenyang and Beijing issued coupons for auto consumption. (Reporting by Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh and Beijing newsroom; Modifying by Andrew Heavens and Louise Heavens)
