China carmaker Changan sees narrowed sales decline in July

SHENZHEN - Chinese automaker Chongqing Changan Automobile Co Ltd received a slight respite in July with a narrowed sales decline.

Its auto sales totaled 119,592 units last month, down 7.1 percent year-on-year, the automaker said in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. In June, its sales declined 24.8 percent.

In the January-July period, Changan sold a total of 944,800 vehicles, down 29.3 percent year-on-year. The decline also narrowed from 31.7 percent in the first half of the year.

The figures include sales by Changan's plant in Chongqing and its joint ventures, including Changan Ford and Changan Mazda, as well as Changan's subsidiaries.

China, the world's largest auto market, saw car sales drop for the first time in over two decades in 2018 and the weak market has continued in 2019.

Car sales in China dropped in July, with 1.808 million vehicles sold, down 4.3 percent year-on-year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said Monday.

The decline narrowed 5.3 percentage points from June, said Chen Shihua, an assistant to the secretary-general of the CAAM.