Car sales in China fell for a 15th consecutive month in September, with the number of new energy vehicles (NEVs) sold contracting for the third month in a row, data from the country's biggest car industry association showed.
Total car sales fell 5.2% from the same month a year earlier, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Monday.
That followed declines of 6.9% in August and 4.3% in July. Car sales in 2018 declined from a year earlier, the first annual contraction since the 1990s against a backdrop of slowing economic growth and a crippling trade war with the US.
Sales of NEVs fell 34.2% in September, CAAM said, following a 15.8% decline in August. NEV sales jumped almost 62% last year as the broader car market contracted.
NEVs include plug-in hybrids, battery-only electric vehicles and those powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
China has been a keen supporter of NEVs and has implemented sales quota requirements for car makers.
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