Shanghai (ZXZC)- China's passenger vehicle (PV) sales in July declined 5.5% year on year to 1.5652 million units, while the year-to-date PV sales climbed 4.1% to 13.1123 million units over the previous year, according the data released by the China Passenger Car Association. ZXZC compiled the data and found that the car market saw its July sales edge down 0.7% over a year ago to 819,200 units, accounting for up to 52.3% of total PV sales nationwide.

Among six major brand origins, German, Japanese and Chinese brands achieved year-on-year sales growth in July. German brands handed over the largest quantity of vehicles with their combined sales rising 6.0% from a year ago thanks to the evident sales increase of SAIC Volkswagen. Particularly, the July sales of the Passat, the Lavida and the Lamando surged 152%, 31% and 119% respectively to 21,611 units, 33,484 units and 10,134 units.

South Korean brands suffered the biggest year-on-year sales drop in July. The sales of Beijing Hyundai and Dongfeng-Yueda-Kia tumbled 39% and 48% respectively compared with the same period in 2017.

Two of the top 10 automakers by July car sales encountered year-on-year sales decrease. FAW-Volkswagen saw its July sales slightly drop 3.1% from a year earlier with the Audi A6L sales plunging 27% year on year. Besides, the sales drop of SAIC-GM was primarily triggered by the sales shrink of the Excelle. Last month, 14,186 units of the Excelle handed over with a year-on-year plunge of 59%.

Driven by the sales growth of the BMW 5 Series, BMW Brilliance boasted a vigorous growth of 18.5% with 26,774 vehicles delivered in July.

Among the top 10 car models by July sales, Japanese models occupied 4 places, namely the Corolla, the Sylphy, the Civic and the Levin. Especially, the Corolla became the best seller last month with its sales totaling 35,392 units, closely followed by the Sylphy.

The Geely Emgrand was the only China-owned model on the top 10 list. The all-new Emgrand, which went on sale in March, has been significantly upgraded from various aspects, while features prices basically same as the old version.