China's auto sales rebound in June

China's automobile sales bounced back last month from downturns in the two previous months as automakers revved up sales promotions to counter slowing demand, an industry group said Sunday. Vehicle sales in China grew 20 percent from the previous month to 1.43 million units in June, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said. The figure was a 1.4 percent increase from a year earlier. China's automobile sales dropped 18 percent on-month to 1.55 million in April. In May, vehicle sales further shed 13.95 percent to 1.19 million. During the first six months of this year, sales of new automobiles reached 9.32 million units, up 3.5 percent from 9.01 million units during the same period a year earlier. The industry group attributed the rebound in June's sales to price cuts and incentive programs offered by automakers. Domestic and global carmakers started to see slower growth this year in China as the government ended tax breaks for purchases of small cars at the end of 2010 and imposed a higher tax at the beginning of this year. The tax breaks, introduced in 2009 to buoy domestic demand amid the economic slowdown, boosted China's auto market and helped it overtake the United States as the world's largest in 2009 and 2010. China's auto sales surged more than 32 percent on-year to hit 18.06 million vehicles last year. The CAAM said it has lowered its forecast for the growth rate of China's auto market in 2011 to 5 percent from 10-15 percent, citing weaker demand in the country after Beijing started to tighten regulations on car purchases.