By Martin Mou

SAIC Motor Corp.'s May vehicle sales fell 1.6% from a year earlier, as the Chinese car maker's monthly sales decline continues to narrow, reflecting a recovery in China's auto market after the pandemic.

The car maker sold 473,064 cars last month. Sales for the January-May period fell 36% to 1.57 million units, SAIC said Friday.

SAIC's sales dropped 8.6% in April and plummeted 56% in the first quarter, when the pandemic was at its peak in China.

May sales at the SAIC-Volkswagen joint venture declined to 131,000 units from 153,992 units a year earlier.

SAIC's joint venture with General Motors, which produces Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet cars, sold 136,157 cars last month, slightly down from 141,251 cars a year earlier.

Write to Martin Mou at martin.mou@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications

This story was corrected at 5:19 a.m. ET. The original in the first paragraph incorrectly referred to vehicle sales in April.