China's July auto sales shrank for the 13th-straight month, down 4.3% from a year earlier to 1.81 million units.

Sales in the world's largest vehicle market declined 11.4% on year in the first seven months of 2019, the Association of Automobile Manufacturers said. Monthly sales were nearly 10% from the July 2017 performance, which was a record for the month at 1.97 million units.

Even electric-vehicle sales, previously a bright spot in the otherwise struggling Chinese auto sector, fell 4.7% on year in July to 80,000 units. A new EV subsidy regime for 2019 and 2020, which makes it tougher for vehicles for qualify for government handouts, came into force at the end of June. That caused demand for EVs to weaken, with sales having spiked in June as consumers rushed to dealerships to find deals on EVs before the tightening of the subsidy rules.