General Motors Co's second-quarter vehicle sales in China fell 12.2%, as the US automaker was hurt by a slowing economy amid the Sino-US trade war and by heightened competition in its key mid-priced SUV segment. GM delivered 753,926 vehicles in China in the April-June period this year, according to a company statement. The drop marks the fourth straight quarterly sales decline for GM in China, the world's biggest auto market.
The numbers from the second biggest international automaker in China by sales portend more uncertainty for the industry which is grappling with the effects of the trade war and is trying to rebound from a downward spiral in sales that led to its first annual decline in more than two decades.
Ford Motor Co is expected to announce its quarterly China sales later on Friday.
Sales of GM's affordable brand Baojun dropped 31.8% during the quarter compared to the same period last year. But luxury brand Cadillac's sales jumped 36.6% in the quarter.
In China, GM has a joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp , in which the Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac are made. It also has another venture, with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group, in which they make no-frills minivans and have started to make higher-end cars.
GM sold 3.64 million units in China last year, down from 4.04 units in 2017.
China's factory activity shrank more than expected in June, highlighting the need for more economic stimulus amid higher US tariffs and weaker domestic demand.
Annual car sales in China fell last year for the first time since the 1990s, and the downward spiral is intact this year too. Sales tumbled 16.4% in May from the same month a year prior, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said. That marked the 11th consecutive month of decline and followed falls of 14.6% in April and 5.2% in March.
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