Only in China could growth of nearly 7 per cent a year be considered a collapse in the market. But when it comes to Chinese passenger car sales – which rose 6.9 per cent in the year to October – growth levels that would be welcome elsewhere are seen as disappointing.
With foreign automakers depending more and more on Asian sales to bolster long-term weakness in their home markets, anything short of stratospheric growth from China would probably qualify as bad news. In the past five years, China contributed one-third of total global growth in vehicle sales, says Bill Russo, former head of Chrysler in China and an advisor to Booz & Co, the global consultancy.
But the new slower growth model is not going away any time soon, auto market experts say.