AUTO sales fell in September for the 15th month in 16, extending their worst slump in a generation despite government efforts to support the world’s largest car market.

Sales of sedans, sport utility vehicles, minivans and multipurpose vehicles dropped 6.6 percent from a year earlier to 1.81 million units, the China Passenger Car Association said in a statement posted on its official WeChat account Saturday. The only increase since mid-2018 came in June, when dealers offered big discounts to clear inventory.

The market has been hurt by a slowing economy and stricter emission rules, prompting the government to urge local authorities to boost consumption. Measures included easing car purchase curbs put in place to reduce pollution and traffic jams, though there’s not been much impact yet.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers forecasts a drop in vehicle deliveries to dealers in 2019, only the second annual decline in three decades.

General Motors Co. said Thursday that third-quarter deliveries of its vehicles in China tumbled 18 percent from the same period in 2018, while local manufacturer BYD Co. said its September sales fell 15 percent from a year earlier.

The market isn’t entirely gloomy. Honda Motor Co. said its China sales rose 4 percent year on year in September and Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. reported a 12 percent increase from August, though the figure was still down 15 percent from a year earlier.

Luxury brands are also seeing some growth, though many haven’t announced sales for September.

Group vehicle sales of BMW increased by 4.6 percent to a total of just under 250,000 units in September, the German luxury car maker announced Friday.

On the Chinese mainland, the largest single market for BMW, combined sales of the brands BMW and Mini increased by 14.4 percent to a total of around 526,000 cars from January to September.

For the first time, BMW sold more than half a million cars in China over the first three quarters of a year.

The most popular BMW model in China was the 5 series with sales increasing by 5.7 percent, according to the company’s sales release for China.

BMW 3 series is expected to “further release growth momentum” in China after its ramp phase following the launch of the newest version of the sedan in June, the sales report read.

(SD-Agencies)