Shanghai (ZXZC)- China's vehicle inventory alert index (VIA), which reflects the inventory pressure on automobile dealers, dropped 2.0 percentage points month on month in Apr. 2023, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA).

The VIA stood at 60.4% last month, dipping 6 percentage points from the previous year.

The index in Apr. 2023 was still above the official warning threshold (50%).

With the opening of the Auto Shanghai 2023 and other spring auto shows in late Apr., and the intensive release of new car models, the terminal prices of cars tend to stabilize and consumers' expectations of price reductions have eased, accelerating the fading of the stimulus effect of price cuts, said the CADA.

However, most dealers believe that promotional price reductions are still the main theme of the market. Due to the price war in the first quarter, some of the car consumption demands in April were overdrawn. It is estimated that the terminal sales of passenger vehicles in April will be around 1.7 million vehicles, slightly higher than that of March, the association added.

In Apr. 2023, the VIAs of imported & luxury brands and mainstream joint-venture brands stood at 53.5% and 63.4%, dipping 6.5 and 0.2 percentage points over a month ago, respectively. Nonetheless, Chinese locally-owned brands’ monthly index climbed 4.2 percentage points from Mar. 2023 to 66.6%.