China auto sales growth slows as demand moderates

China's auto sales slowed further in September as a boom fueled by tax breaks and subsidies faded.

Official figures for the month, delayed by a weeklong national holiday, showed total sales rising 17 percent from a year earlier to 1.56 million vehicles, down from 18 percent in August, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported Tuesday.

Sales rose 16 percent in July and 21 percent in June, but have generally slowed since spring.

Passenger car sales rose 19.3 percent to 1.2 million vehicles, the group said on its website.

"Growth in China's auto market seems to be back to normal after the boom," said Wei Chenggang, an analyst at Shanghai Securities, in Shanghai, forecasting further slowing in months to come.

"This might be bad for automakers in the short term, but is definitely better for the sustainable development of the industry," he said.

China became the world's largest auto market in 2009 when sales surged 45 percent to 13.6 million vehicles.

Analysts are forecasting that sales may climb roughly 30 percent to about 17 million vehicles for the year, providing a respite for automakers still fighting flat or weakening sales in the U.S. and other more mature markets. Yahoo! News