Amid the gloom of China’s slowing growth, one bright spot has been sales of cars, which have been booming in spite of the broader slowdown, writes Leslie Hook.
Car sales to dealerships rose 7.1 per cent in the first half, compared with the same period last year, according to data released yesterday by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
This means the sector has outpaced growth in key sectors such as electricity production – up 5.8 per cent in the first five months of the year – or steel output – up 2 per cent in the first six months. In June, sales to dealerships were up 15.8 per cent from the previous year, reaching 1.28m cars. They rose 22.6 per cent in May year on year.