China auto sales contract sharply in April

BEIJING - The Chinese automobile market reported a sharp contraction in April as sales declined 11 percent month-on-month to 1.99 million units, data showed Monday.

Sales volume also dropped 0.5 percent year-on-year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Auto output reached 2.08 million units last month, down 8.9 percent from March. This represents a tepid 0.6-percent rise over the same period last year.

In the first four months, sales in the world's largest auto market rose by 2.8 percent, reaching 8.14 million units; output during the same period rose 4.1 percent to 8.28 million units.

Growth rates for output and sales during January-April decelerated by 4.9 and 6.3 percentage points from the same period last year.