China Sept vehicle sales rose 2.5% y-o-y

[Beijing] China's September vehicle sales totaled 1.98 million units, up 2.5 per cent from a year earlier, an industry association said on Monday.

During the first nine months of 2014, China's vehicle sales rose 7.0 per cent from a year earlier, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) told a press conference in Beijing.

CAAM has forecast that the market will expand 8.3 per cent this year, slowing from last year's 13.9 per cent pace.

In September, Japanese carmakers Nissan Motor Co and Honda Motor Co both posted their third consecutive monthly decline in China sales, registering decreases of 20 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.

Nissan attributed the decline to increased competition while Honda said dealers had been clearing inventory ahead of the launch of two new models later this year.

Sales of German brands have continued to be robust. Premium carmaker BMW posted a 17.9 per cent growth during the first nine months while Daimler AG's Mercedes Benz said its China sales jumped 30.5 per cent in September.

Volkswagen AG's premium brand Audi posted a 13 per cent increase in China sales in September.

- REUTERS