China's production and sales of automobiles continued to decline on both a monthly and an annual basis in August 2021, after Covid-19 outbreaks choked the supply chain and cost pressure ramped up, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in its monthly report published on Friday September 10.
For the same month, overall car exports, output and sales figures for new energy vehicles (NEVs) continued their strong performance, hitting record highs.
Automotive production in China stood at 1.73 million units for August, down by 7.4%
month on month and by 18.7% year on year. Sales came in at 1.80 million units, down by 3.5% month on month and by 17.8% year on year.
With continued chip shortages constraining car production, a high statistical base in August 2020 also led to the sharp year-on-year decline in output and sales figures for August.
From July 1, 2021, heavy-duty diesel vehicles came under the Chinese Phase VI Emission Standards, which also negatively affected demand for commercial vehicles.
Supply shortages are the major issue in the automotive market, while end-user demand remains stable, the CAAM indicated.
For NEVs, output increased by 8.8% from July...