China's auto sector growth to halve to 7%

Growth in China's auto market, the world's biggest, will halve to 7 percent this year weighed down by a slowing economy, the head of an industry body said.

"Personally, I think growth this year can reach 7 percent," Dong Yang, secretary general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said on the sidelines of an industry conference on Saturday in Shanghai.

"The economy is slowing. The auto industry would reflect that but typically lags the economic cycle by a bit."

CAAM had forecast China's auto market, which grew by 13.9 percent last year, to expand at 8.3 percent in 2014. Dong said CAAM will not officially revised its forecast.

Carlos Ghosn, head of Japan's Nissan Motor Co and its French partner Renault SA, told the same conference he was still optimistic about China's outlook.

"From time to time we have slowdown ... but fundamentally I'm still very optimistic on the fact that the long-term trend in China is up and carmakers should be prepared for that," Ghosn said, pointing to China's low car ownership level compared with other major markets.

Nissan has said its China sales fell by 20 percent in September from a year earlier, the third straight month of decline, on weak sales of light commercial vehicles and keener rivalry in the passenger car segment.