China auto sales down 2.31pc

BEIJING: China´s auto sales fell year-on-year in June, an industry group said Friday, as a slowing economy and rollercoaster stocks hit demand in the world´s largest car market.
Vehicle sales in China declined 2.31 percent last month to 1.80 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said.
Passenger car sales alone decreased a sharper 3.36 percent to 1.51 million, according to the group.
Stock market volatility, downside pressures on the economy, and car plate restrictions in some cities were all factors in the declines, the CAAM said.
Both rising and falling share prices hit demand for cars, CAAM secretary general Dong Yang told a news conference.
"The stock market has had a rather big impact on liquidity -- cash has been flowing into the share market," he said.
China´s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index soared by more than 150 percent in the year to its peak on June 12, and has since plunged by almost a third before bouncing more than 10 percent in the two days to Friday´s close after government support measures were introduced.