China will roll out more policies to stabilize the consumption of automobiles to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak on its auto market, an official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.
The country sold a total of 1.94 million vehicles in January, down 18 percent year on year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
Last month, new energy vehicle sales slumped 54.4 percent, while production dropped by 55.4 percent year on year, said the CAAM.
"Since last year, the automobile industry has been in a period of adjustment," said the MOC official, who attributed the sales fall to the delayed consumption demand due to the early Spring Festival holiday and the outbreak of the epidemic.
All localities are encouraged to beef up efforts to promote the consumption of new energy vehicles, lift vehicle purchase restrictions and carry out automobile replacement, said the ministry.
