China auto sales cool in June as domestic brands lose more share to foreign rivals

Car sales in China cooled in June, with domestic brands falling further behind their foreign rivals in the world's biggest auto market.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported Wednesday that passenger vehicle sales rose 11.5 percent last month over a year earlier to 1.56 million vehicles.

That's slower than the 13.9 percent growth in May.

From January to June, vehicle sales are up 11.2 percent to 9.63 million.

Total vehicle sales, including buses and trucks, increased 5.2 percent to 1.85 million in June. That's down from 8.5 percent growth in May.

Domestic brands continued to struggle, with their market share falling 3.5 percentage points to 37.7 percent, the lowest level since 2009, according to the official Xinhua news agency.