Reuters reported that Xu Haidong, the senior official of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the country’s largest auto industry association, said they expect to see a second-half pick-up in auto sales.

“If we only consider domestic factors, we believe the industry in the second half of the year should be able to recover to the level of the same period last year." He, however, noted that "it is still difficult to make up for first-quarter and first-half losses.”

According to CAAM forecasts, China's auto sales are to drop more than 10% in the first half of the year, and around 5% for the whole year if the outbreak is effectively contained before April.

In March, auto sales in China tumbled 43.3% y/y as the world’s biggest automobile market struggles to get into gear following a prolonged coronavirus-related demand slump. The March decline, however, was less sharp than in February, when sales plunged 79% y/y.