China's slowing auto market has welcomed the new year with a new round of price cuts. Prices in the domestic auto market are forecast to fall by 15 percent or more this year.
China's slowing car market has welcomed the new year with a new round of price cuts.

China's top vehicle producer First Automotive Works Corp's Shenzhen and Tianjin affiliates both slashed prices of their autoes including Mazda, Vizi and Vela on the first day of the new year.

Other automakers in China will also launch price cuts this month, such as Nissan's joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp and Kia's venture in eastern Jiangsu Province.

The prices of many imported cars, including models made by Volvo, Land Rover, Hyundai and Skoda, dropped over the past week thanks to China's tariff cut under its obligations to the World Trade Organization.

Analysts say these price cuts are a continuation of the red-hot price wars fought last year by manufacturers eager to boost sales and clear huge inventories.

And prices in the domestic auto market are forecast to fall by 15 percent or more this year, compared to last year's fall of 10 percent.