According to the data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers yesterday, in the first quarter of this year, the sales volume of domestic cars was 4.983 million, an increase of 8.08% year-on-year, and the rate of increase was significantly lower than the same period of last year. Dong Yang, executive deputy chairman of China Automobile Association, said that policy factors such as rising oil prices affected the production and sales of automobiles in the first quarter.

Statistics from the China Automobile Association show that in March this year, the production and sales of domestic cars were 1,827,300 and 1,829,500, respectively, a year-on-year increase of 5%. In the same month, although the sales volume of passenger cars exceeded 1.3 million, it did not hit record highs as in previous years, and the year-on-year growth rate dropped significantly. In the first quarter, the accumulative production and sales of domestically produced cars were 4,895,700 and 4,983,700, respectively, an increase of 7.48% and 8.08% year-on-year, respectively, representing an increase of 69.51 percentage points and 63.7 percentage points respectively over the same period of last year.

Dong Yang, executive deputy chairman of China Automobile Association, used “worships and misfortunes” to outline the production and sales of automobiles in the first quarter. “We are pleased to see that the Chinese auto industry is continuously returning to rationality. The concern is that the growth rate will fall too fast. This year, the efficiency of some auto companies will be obvious. Some of them may have business difficulties.” Dong Yang believes that the main reasons for the sharp decline in automobile production and sales in the first quarter include the withdrawal of preferential policies such as purchase tax, rising oil prices, restrictions on the purchase of some urban vehicles, and earthquakes in Japan. Dong Yang believes that the impact of rising oil prices on the auto industry cannot be underestimated. “At present, the price of oil does not fall, and it has been rising. If it rises to 10 yuan per liter, it will become a major factor restricting the development of the auto industry. In addition, Beijing and other major cities Measures taken to control traffic congestion, such as increasing parking fees, restricting purchases, etc., will affect consumer purchasing psychology."

Dong Yang also stated that the impact of the earthquake in Japan on the Chinese automobile industry is comprehensive and not only limited to Japanese cars. “We cannot only calculate the first-tier suppliers, we must also look at the second- and third-tier suppliers and even more. Many key components still remain. It needs to be imported from Japan.” He said that since the information on the resumption of production of Japanese auto companies is not yet clear, it is difficult to fully assess its impact.