China’s auto sales fall 5.8% in October

China’s auto sales fell 5.8% from a year earlier in October as demand for electric cars plunged, extending a painful squeeze in the global industry’s biggest market.

An industry group, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said Monday that drivers bought 1.9 million sedans, SUVs and minivans.

Buyers are putting off big purchases amid anxiety about a cooling economy and Beijing’s tariff war with Washington.

Total sales, including trucks and buses, shrank 0.6% to 2.3 million.

Sales of electric and gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles tumbled 45.6% to 75,000. Demand has been dampened by the end of government subsidies in mid-2019.