China Production Climbs 10.2% in July

China built 1,583,333 vehicles in July, up 10.2% from year-ago but down 5.4% from June’s 1.6 million, marking the fourth straight month of volume decreases for the country.

A slowdown in economic growth is having a dampening effect on production, although output still is ahead of year-ago levels.

China’s auto makers built 876,297 cars in July, up 4.3% from like-2012, the lowest volume since February. Light-truck output climbed 18.8% to 625,710, while medium/heavy trucks jumped 23.6% to 68,761. Buses plummeted 16.5% to 12,565.

FAW-Volkswagen, with 128,060 units built in July, was the country’s top manufacturer for the second straight month, accounting for 8.1% of total vehicle production. Shanghai VW ranked second with a 7.8% share and Shanghai General Motors was third with 7.6%.

FAW-VW’s Jetta was the leading model in July for the first time this year, with 42,723 units built for a 2.7% share, pushing Shanghai GM’s Buick Excelle to No.2.

Output of the all-new Honda Jade began last month with 77 builds. The multipurpose vehicle goes on sale in September and will be built at the Dongfeng-Honda joint-venture plant in China.

China’s auto makers produced 12,335,008 vehicles through the year’s first seven months, up 12.5%, or 2 million units, from year-ago.

[email protected]