That was down from a 6.9% rise in 2014 and marked the slowest growth since 2012 when sales increased by 4.3 percent, previous CAAM figures showed.
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Chinese auto sales rose 18.3 percent in December, boosting the year’s total to just over 21 million cars, SUVs and minivans.
The tax break is scheduled to last over the course of this year, and the China Automobile Association predicts that the growth of the automobile industry may reach as high as 6 percent this year.
UBS expects the market to further recover this year, with passenger auto sales rising 8 percent from last year’s 7.3 percent growth as purchase tax reduction may continue to work its magic as stimulus measures did in the fourth quarter.
“The 2015 vehicle market downturn was to some extent accidental”, Dong wrote in an article on CAAM’s website.
The country’s vehicle sales totaled 24.6 million units past year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers told reporters in Beijing. However, Beijing’s halving of the 10 per cent purchase tax on small-engine vehicles in October reinvigorated sales.
Based on the analysis, CAAM also predicted that in 2016 the sales of domestic passenger vehicles will increase 7.8% to be around 22,760,000 units while that of commercial vehicles will see a negative growth of 5%. Sales of commercial vehicles fell by 10% to 3.5m units, reflecting weakening growth in fixed investment, construction and industrial output.
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A spectacular rally in Chinese shares in the first half of 2015 attracted huge flows of funds into the stock markets, much of which became locked up in an ensuing rout, hitting consumers’ budgets and dampening demand for cars.
