China auto sales fall in July, while exports jump about 20% as automakers expand across the globe

Auto sales in China faltered in July, falling 5% from a year earlier, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Friday, although exports jumped about 20% as makers of electric vehicles expanded into global markets.

Sales of passenger cars totaled about 2 million units, with about 1.6 million sold inside China, a year-on-year decline of 10%. Total exports of passenger vehicles jumped more than 20% to 399,000 units.

More than half of all vehicles sold were so-called “new energy vehicles,” or electrics and plug-in hybrids.

Chinese automakers have ramped up exports of vehicles as demand has lagged in their home market and the U.S. and European Union have raised tariffs on the grounds that government subsidies offered by Beijing give automakers in China an unfair advantage.

China’s Commerce Ministry said Friday that it had submitted the provisional tariffs imposed in early July to the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement mechanism.