China is considering steps to prevent automakers from blocking parallel-import cars in the country. (Photo : Reuters)
China will be observing a decline in its automobile market that has been marked as the biggest in the world, said a head in the industry.
According to secretary general Dong Yang from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China's growth can still reach the 7-percent mark.
"The economy is slowing. The auto industry would reflect that but typically lags the economic cycle by a bit," said Dong Yang.
The previous CAAM forecast on China's automobile market, which saw an increase of 13.9 percent in 2013, stated that it would grow up to 8.3 percent this year. Even with the slow economy, Dong Yang said that the CAAM forecast will remain the same.
Japan Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA head Carlos Ghosn also said that he still has hope for the Chinese auto market's future.
Ghosn said that slowdowns are sometimes needed, but he is still hopeful that the auto market in China will pay off in the long run. Car manufacturers should expect growth after a downturn despite the low car ownership in China compared with other countries.
Nissan also said that a 20-percent decline was seen in its sales in China in September 2013. It was a three-month downward shot that was due to the low sales on light commercial vehicles and a harder competition from the passenger car sector.
In the previous month, the automobile company was reported to have sold over 90,000, a considerable decrease from to the 117,100 cars sold earlier this year.
