Auto sales climb by slower pace in May

China's vehicle sales rose by a slower pace in May amid a low season for auto purchases, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said yesterday.

Deliveries of passenger cars and commercial vehicles increased 8.5 percent from a year earlier in May to 1.91 million units, the association said. But the figure decreased 4.6 percent from April's sales.

In the first five months of this year, auto sales totaled 9.83 million units, up 9 percent year on year. Of the total, 8.07 million units were passenger cars, an increase of 11.1 percent from a year earlier with sport-utility vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles as the driving force.

Meanwhile, Chinese domestic brands continued to see their share of the passenger car market decline 2.9 percentage points to 36.5 percent in May from the same month of last year. For the first five months, the domestic brands lost a total of 3.8 percentage points, mainly to German carmakers.

Domestic brands have struggled to keep up with bigger, richer global rivals. Industry analysts say their quality is improving and they expect sales gains with the planned launch this year of new models by some Chinese automakers.

Auto sales growth in China has cooled steadily since peaking above 40 percent in 2009. This year's sales are forecast to grow by 8-10 percent.