BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The expiry of subsidies caused the Chinese car market to shrink slightly in October. Deliveries to end customers in the People's Republic fell by 0.8 percent year-on-year, according to the industry association PCA (China Passenger Car Association) on Monday in Beijing. Apart from a decline in January due to the Chinese New Year, when sales regularly drop significantly, this was the first decline in the market since August 2024.
In many provinces and large cities across the country, such as Shanghai, trade-in incentives for used cars are expiring or have already been canceled. These had driven new car sales this year – according to government figures, more than 10 million such applications for incentives have been submitted this year. After ten months, the Chinese market is still recording an 8.3 percent increase in sales, thanks in part to the incentives.
German manufacturers are currently facing a difficult situation in China, their former growth market. Volkswagen is struggling with the discount war waged by local electric car suppliers. Sales figures for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche are slipping significantly because wealthy Chinese consumers are less inclined to buy German premium brands than they used to be.
In addition, buyers are no longer as willing to spend money, partly due to the real estate crisis in the country. China is the world's largest car market and also the most important single market for German companies.
