China's auto production, sales down in May

China's automobile production and sales both dropped in May from April, marking the second month-on-month decline in a row, new data showed Tuesday.

Last month, auto production dropped 4.4 percent from a month earlier to 1.98 million units, while sales declined 4.6 percent to 1.91 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in a statement.

On a year-on-year basis, production in May rose 11 percent and sales increased 8.5 percent, the CAAM said.

In the first five months of this year, auto production rose 9.4 percent year on year to 9.93 million units, while sales grew by 9 percent to 9.84 million vehicles. Both paces slowed down from the same period last year.

The drops last month were largely due to plunges in the commercial vehicle market. Output and sales of commercial vehicles were both down by more than 18 percent month on month in May, the statement said.

A total of 3.06 million passenger cars of domestic brands were sold in the first five months, up by 0.94 percent from a year earlier. Home brands accounted for 37.97 percent of total passenger car sales, down 3.83 percentage points from the same period last year.

Exports by Chinese auto makers continued to drop, with 76,300 vehicles exported in May, down 12 percent from a year earlier. In the first five months, total exports dropped 9.8 percent from the same period last year to 363,300 units, according to the CAAM.

China has remained the world's largest auto market and producer for five consecutive years, with production and sales both exceeding 20 million units for the first time in 2013.