"July retail sales of light passenger vehicles in China fell 5.3% from a year earlier to 1.51 million units. Escalating trade tensions with the US, a cooling economy and tighter emission rules are prolonging the carmakers and dealers’ sales slump in the country. The declines of local brands Geely and BYD have been particularly steep. BMW, Daimler, Honda and Toyota, however, are seeing some boost in their sales this year, albeit through offering higher discounts. While the year-ago sales for August month may show some improvement, it would most likely be from the lower base effect, rather than an improving sales rate. With the recent decline in July, we now project an overall annual drop in China’s car sales for 2019." – Vinay Piparsania