China auto sales sink 5.4% in November, market slides for second year

China's auto sales sank 5.4 per cent in November from a year earlier, putting the industry's biggest global market on track to shrink for a second year.

An industry group, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said Tuesday drivers bought just over 2 million SUVs, sedans and minivans.

Sales for the 11 months through November were off 10.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Chinese auto sales have been slowing after years of double-digit growth that made the country the world's largest market by vehicle sales.

The slump is squeezing automakers that are under pressure to invest in electric vehicle development to meet government sales quotas.