According to a statement released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), total unit sales reached 4.7m over quarter one and claimed that vehicle production was also down by 1.83% year-on-year.

The Chinese automotive sector did however manage to recover from February's low figures with success in March. Total unit sales for this month reached 1.88m units, an increase of 17.3% on February and a year-on year rise of 1.02%.