China's car market reports second straight annual decline

A General Motors Co's dealership in Shanghai, China. The company said sales in China plunged 15% last year and warned pressure on its business will persist in 2020.

SHANGHAI (Bloomberg) -- Car sales in China continued to fall in December, capping a second straight annual decline for the world’s biggest market, which is showing few signs of emerging from its historic slump.

Sales of sedans, sport utility vehicles, minivans and multi-purpose vehicles fell 3.6% last month from a year earlier to 2.17 million units, the China Passenger Car Association said Thursday.

The drop was the 18th in the past 19 months, with the only gain coming last June when dealers offered large discounts to clear inventory. The full-year decline was 7.5%.