Top Chinese automotive executives sat down with government officials this week to talk about new ways of encouraging lower car sales in rural areas, sources with knowledge of the issue, disclosed.
Car manufacturers in the country are grappling with the challenges of falling sales on the world's largest car market and are looking for new policies.
A senior official at the Automobile Manufacturers ' Association of China (CAAM), Zeng Guang, stated to Reuters that the meeting was arranged by Auto Review magazine of the association in Beijing.
He declined to give specifics of the talks but said participants accepted that the current decline in sales was normal to give how the car market in China was still growing.
Sources told Reuters that the conference was dubbed "cars for the rural areas," reflecting the need to increase demand outside the centers of the world where revenues are particularly weak.
China's state planner issued a series of measures in June to revive a slump in automobile sales, but these fell short of the expectations of automakers and did little to boost sales.
People with meeting information said government officials advised attendees that they were discussing measures to broaden the rural car market and strengthen automotive retirement plans. We also encouraged companies to build designs appropriate for the rural demand for electric vehicles.
Government officials, however, cautioned that short-term stimulus measures would harm the long-term growth of the sector and that Beijing was not interested in pursuing a path. During the meeting, they made no commitments, the sources said.
A senior official at CAAM told Reuters last month that auto sales in China may fall to 26 million this year, but overall they were still on track to hit 30 million with further headroom by 2023.
The meeting was attended by government officials from the National Commission for Development and Reform (NDRC), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Ministry of Commerce, sources told Reuters.
The NDRC, MIIT and the Ministry of Commerce did not respond to requests for comments via fax immediately.
Also present were executives from domestic car companies and joint ventures with foreign firms, they added.
Based on reports, Volkswagen's domestic alliance with FAW Group, General Motors' Guangxi venture with SAIC, Nissan's venture with Dongfeng and Chinese brands like BYD were on the invite list.
Volkswagen, General Motors, Nissan and BYD did not respond to requests for comments immediately.
