New car sales in China dropped in July for the second straight month due to sluggish domestic sales.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers says 2,262 million units were sold last month. That is a year-on-year decline of 5.2 percent.
The association attributes the decline mainly to a 10.1 percent drop in domestic sales, as more consumers were spending less.
On the other hand, sales of new-energy vehicles, including electric models, rose 27 percent. As a result, they accounted for 43.8 percent of all units sold.
China’s auto exports including gasoline cars also marked a 19.6 percent increase to 469,000 units, indicating that the trade is driving the country’s new car sales.
But moves by Western countries may cast a shadow on China’s EV shipments. The European Union imposed extra duties of up to 37.6 percent on imports of electric vehicles made in China, and the administration of US President Joe Biden announced major tariff hikes.