The market for new cars and light trucks may be slipping, but used-vehicle sales are gaining momentum in China, rising 6.7 percent to top 1.2 million in July on demand for secondhand crossovers, SUVs and multipurpose vehicles. 

Sales at Volkswagen Group, the largest light-vehicle maker in China, rose for the second straight month in July as gains at the Audi and VW brands more than offset weak results at Skoda.

Great Wall, China’s largest light-truck maker, is establishing an r&d center in Jiading, a suburb of Shanghai, to conduct advance research and engineering on hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles and related key components, new mobility solutions and autonomous driving. 

Electric-vehicle startup Aiways acquired a 50 percent stake in troubled domestic SUV maker Jiangling Holdings, paving the way to launch EV output. Jiangling Holdings was relaunched last week as a 50-25-25 three-way partnership among Aiways, Jiangling Motors Group and Changan Automobile Co. in Nanchang, capital of east China’s Jiangxi province. 

Morgan Cars China, British sports car maker Morgan Motor Co.’s sole dealer in China, has stopped marketing, importing and taking orders for the hand-built roadsters, citing quality concerns and a lack of support from the factory.

Toyota brand continues to buck the downturn in the Chinese new-vehicle market with July sales advancing 8.6 percent to 119,956, according to China Passenger Car Alliance. While it outsold Honda and Nissan in China last month, Toyota trailed the two other Japanese brands in local sales during the first seven months. 

Hyundai Motor Co. will introduce its second and third electric vehicles in China during the fourth quarter, complying with local regulations to ramp up electrified car and light-truck output. The battery version of the Encino crossover will go on sale in October, followed by the battery variant of the Lafesta sedan in December.

Volkswagen, the largest car brand in China, bucked the market downturn for a second month in a row, with July sales rising 2 percent to 228,000. The gains came mainly as a result of its “SUV offensive,” VW said. 

Mercedes-Benz pulled off a 13 percent sales increase in July, enabling it to outsell BMW and Audi during the month and also in the first seven months of the year. 

Vehicle inventories at dealerships in China surged to a 53-day supply in July from 41 days in June with the arrival of new vehicles that meet new State 6 emission rules. The increase followed two months of falling stockpiles as dealers sold down supplies of vehicles that did not meet State 6 rules.  

With stricter emissions rules and a trade war weighing on light-vehicle demand for the 13th straight month, carmakers that relied on the world’s largest auto market for growth for decades, pouring billions of dollars into China, are now left questioning future investments.

New-car sales at General Motors’ passenger vehicle joint venture with SAIC Motor Co. fell in July after stabilizing the previous month, as overall vehicle demand in China remains weak.  July deliveries at SAIC-GM, which builds and markets Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet cars and light trucks, fell 18 percent to 111,567, SAIC said.

Great Wall Motor Co., China’s largest light-truck manufacturer, booked its strongest sales gain this year in July on demand for a new compact crossover marketed under the Haval brand. The company’s total deliveries rose 11 percent to 60,357 last month, largely reflecting Haval F7 volume. 

MG, owned by SAIC Motor Corp., kicked off sales of its first pickup, not in China or the United Kingdom, but in Thailand. Pickups account for roughly half of all vehicle sales in Thailand and the new truck is designed to fortify the British brand's presence in the key Asian market.

Chinese brands continue to lose market share at home, and the biggest domestic carmaker -- Geely Automobile Holdings -- isn't immune, with sales tumbling more than 20 percent for the fourth straight month in July. Domestic automakers are reeling from a combination of bad luck and factors partly of their own making.