PV Sales: China's passenger vehicle (PV) sales shrank 14.1 per cent in January from the prior month, the first such slide since August, as per the data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Thursday.

The PV sales stood at 2.05 million units, up 57.1 per cent from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the battery-powered electric vehicle (EV) sales sagged 37 per cent in January month-on-month basis, far below expectations, a main source of pressure on auto market growth, said Cui Dongshu, Secretary General for CPCA.

A price war among automakers will remain fierce in 2024, Cui predicted. More than 40 brands joined the price war that was triggered by Tesla in China throughout 2023.

Demand faltered in the world's largest auto market despite a renewed discounting push led by Tesla at the start of 2024.