China’s Low-Price Car Promotion Fails to Spur Sales as Consumer Confidence Declines

A bleak economic outlook is causing middle-class Chinese to hold back on buying high-end goods such as cars

People visit the 20th Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition on its opening day at Guangzhou, in China's southern Guangdong Province, on Dec. 30, 2022. STR/AFP via Getty Images

News Analysis

A low-price auto campaign initiated by Chinese car companies and local governments has been sweeping throughout China since the start of March, but auto sales continue to fall. Experts indicate that middle-class Chinese citizens, the mainstay of consumption, face heavy debts as they lose confidence in the economy.