Oxford, UK — Car production in China was 1.47 m units in May 2019. This is a 23.0% fall compared with May 2018, according to consultants LMC Automotive.
The consultants estimate that, in 2019, total passenger vehicle production will be down by about 6%. They suggest production could fall to 21.8 m units.
LMC Automotive also said that inventories were high at the start of 2019, and therefore manufacturers cut back production. This led to a sharp fall in output in the first quarter of 2019.
There were also steep production declines in April and May, they added, because the government implemented new car emission standards. Dealers had a lot of the old standard cars in stock, and had no room for cars that complied to the new standard.
The Chinese government has introduced new incentives for consumers to buy cars, but this may not be enough to help the industry very much in 2019, LMC Automotive concluded.
