BEIJING (AP) " Growth in auto sales in China, the biggest market by number of vehicles sold, slowed last year but reached 19.7 million vehicles as domestic brands lost more market share to foreign competitors.
Sales of passenger vehicles for the full year rose 9.9 percent, down 5.8 percentage points from 2013, an industry group, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, reported Monday.
Global automakers are looking to China to drive sales despite declining growth rates as Beijing tries to steer the world's second-largest economy to more self-sustaining expansion and away from reliance on trade and investment.
Automakers are investing heavily in trying to appeal to Chinese tastes. Global brands have responded to slowing sales growth in major cities by stepping up efforts to sell in towns and the Chinese countryside.
Sales in December rose 16 percent over a year earlier to a monthly record of 2.06 million vehicles, according to CAAM.