China's output, sales of passenger cars down in July

BEIJING - China's output and sales of passenger cars slipped in July, down 4.3 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively, year-on-year, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed Thursday.

Passenger car production reached 2.12 million units last month, while sales hit 2.1 million units.

During the first seven months, passenger car production stood at 13.4 million units, up 6 percent from a year ago. Sales rose 6.7 percent year-on-year to 13.37 million units.

In July, vehicle exports soared 35.1 percent from a year earlier to 392,000 units.

From January to July, exports reached 2.53 million units, up 67.9 percent year-on-year.