China's auto sales increased 13% in April from a year earlier,
accelerating from the previous month in spite of indicators showing
the country's economic recovery falling short of expectations.
But analysts warned of slower growth in the world's largest car
market, citing a weak economic recovery and a government-led
crackdown on official lavish spending.
Sales of passenger and commercial vehicles totaled 1.84 million
last month compared with 1.62 million a year ago, data from the
semi-official China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed
on Thursday. That was greater than March's 11% year-on-year
gain.
Sales of passenger cars also rose 13% to 1.44 million vehicles,
the association said.
Analysts attributed the results to solid demand. UBS Securities
said in a note Thursday that, among the total of 600 models it
tracks, 147 models saw price increases in April, compared with 131
in March, and 344 models registered price drops in April, down from
353 in March.
"The result reflected strong consumer demand as well as a good
inventory management by dealers," the brokerage said.
"So far, the market performance has been better than our
expectations," said John Zeng, a director at LMC Automotive
Consulting (Shanghai).
But he maintained his forecast of a 10.5% gain for the year. "We
are cautious about the local economy and expect car-sales growth to
moderate in the following months," he said.
China's economic recovery has been losing momentum, with
first-quarter growth a disappointing 7.7%, down from 7.9% in the
final quarter of 2012. Some indicators of manufacturing activity
have also shown sluggish growth.
A frugality campaign spearheaded by the new government led by
President Xi Jinping has put pressure on imports of luxury cars,
analysts said.
Customer data show that, in the first four months of this year,
China imported $13 billion worth of cars and motor-vehicle chassis,
down nearly 23% from a year earlier.
"It appears that the central government will remain on a hawkish
stance in cracking down on official extravagance. So luxury
carmakers will continue to feel the pinch," said Mr. Zeng.
The results were encouraging for Japanese auto makers, which
have seen sales in China slump amid a territorial spat between
Beijing and Tokyo. The share of Japanese brands in the
passenger-car market rose to 16.1% last month from 15% in March,
data from the auto association showed.
On Monday, Nissan Motor Co. (7201.TO, NSANY) said its new-car
sales in China rose 2.7% compared with a year earlier in April,
reversing a 17% fall in March. Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.TO, TM),
Japan's largest car maker by sales, said its sales in China fell
6.5% last month, compared with a 12% decline in March. On Tuesday,
Honda Motor Co. (7267.TO, HMC) said its April sales fell 2.4% from
a year ago, compared with a 6.6% decline in March.
Still, analysts said problems remain for Japanese companies
grappling with fierce competition in the world's largest auto
market, and with adapting to rapidly shifting consumer
preferences.
In contrast, General Motors Co.'s (GM) sales in China rose 15%
last month to 261,870 vehicles, accounting for 14% of China's
automobile market.
German car makers continued to lead foreign brands, with a 19.3%
market share.
Write to Rose Yu at rose.yu@dowjones.com and Yajun Zhang at
yajun.zhang@dowjones.com.
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