Automobile sales in China fell 9.6% in June from the same month a year earlier, marking the 12th consecutive monthly decline in the world's largest vehicle market.

Sales fell to 2.06 million vehicles, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said. That followed declines of 16.4% in May and 14.6% in April, as well as the first annual contraction last year since the 1990s amid slowing economic growth and a crippling trade war with the United States.

Sales in the first half of the year fell 12.4% from a year earlier to 12.3 million vehicles.

A slowing economy and China's trade war with the United States have been blamed for the year-long slide in auto sales, but more recently, much of the blame has been laid on the fast-tracking of new vehicle emission rules by 15 cities and provinces, which account for over 60% of car sales in China.