AUTO industry executives met with government officials over the weekend to discuss ways to promote higher car sales in rural areas, Reuters quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying yesterday.

A senior official at the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), Zeng Guang, confirmed that the meeting had been organized in Beijing by the association’s magazine Auto Review.

He declined to provide details of the discussions but said participants had agreed that the current sales decline was normal give how China’s car market was still developing.

Sources said the meeting was titled “cars for the rural areas,” emphasizing the need to target sales outside of the big cities where sales have been especially weak.

China’s top economic planner had issued a series of measures in June to revive a slump in car sales but these had fallen short of automakers’ expectations and done little to spur sales.

Sources said government officials told participants they were considering policies to expand the second-hand car market in rural areas and to improve vehicle retirement policies. They also urged firms to develop electric vehicle models that are suitable for the rural market.

However, government officials warned that short-term stimulus policies would hurt the industry’s long-term development and was not a route the government was keen to pursue.

A senior official at the CAAM said last month auto sales in China may drop by around 8 percent to 26 million this year but were ultimately still on track to hit 30 million by 2023.

(SD-Agencies)