People Daily Online reported that China auto market weakened further in July as rapid sales growth cooled.

According to the state-sanctioned China Association of Automobile manufacturer Sales declined 11.9% from June to 1.2 million vehicles.

The slowdown is a setback for global manufacturers such as General Motors, Toyota and Honda that are hoping China will drive sales as demand elsewhere weakens.

Chinese vehicle sales are forecast to grow by 20% this year but that is down sharply from 2009 breakneck 45% rise. July YoY sales growth of 14.4% was down from June increase of 19.4%.

(Sourced from By People Daily Online)