China’s car sales snapped an 11-month streak of year-over-year growth as demand bolstered by a strong economic recovery collided with a global semiconductor shortage.
Sales of passenger cars in June were down 5.1% from a year earlier to 1.58 million vehicles, the China Passenger Car Association said Thursday. April-June sales were up 2.3% from the same period last year, when the market began to recover from a nationwide pandemic lockdown.
Much of the June decline could be attributed to supply constraints that have emerged in recent months, the association said. The historic chip shortage has crimped production for auto makers around the world, including some in China, the group said.
Japanese car makers were among the hardest-hit by the chip shortage last month. Nissan Motor Co. ’s China sales were down 16% in June from a month earlier, while Honda Motor Co. ’s were off 17%. Honda cited component shortages.
The car association said it expects supply constraints to ease in the second half of the year.
