The Chinese auto industry's growth rate is expected to decelerate by as much as 50% for 2014, according to the secretary general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

"Personally, I think growth this year can reach 7 percent," said Dong Yang, who is head of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), told Shanghai Daily at an industry conference in Shanghai this weekend. "The economy is slowing. The auto industry would reflect that but typically lags the economic cycle by a bit."

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A growth rate of 7 percent for 2014 would be roughly half of the industry's 14 percent growth recorded for last year. It is also below the 8.3 percent that CAAM had publicly forecast earlier this year, however, Dong said the group would not officially revise its figures.  

That's a rather significant change of expectations from the beginning of the year when Hubertus Troska, head of Daimler AG's Greater China operations, told reporters that "If things continue well, there's a good chance that the automobile market in China will grow again double-digit this year," adding that "we believe clearly for anybody working in the automobile industry, if there's one place to be, it's China."

LMC Automotive, a provider of auto industry forecasts, had said it expected 11 percent growth for 2014, while consulting firm IHS predicted a more conservative 9 percent.

Despite the new gloomy prediction from Dong, Carlos Ghosn, head of Japan's Nissan Motor Co and its French partner Renault SA, told the conference he remains positive about China's auto industry outlook.

"From time to time we have slowdown," Ghosn said. "But fundamentally I'm still very optimistic on the fact that the long-term trend in China is up and carmakers should be prepared for that."

Nissan reported a 20 percent drop in September sales, compared to the same month last year. It marked the company's third consecutive month of sales declining.

TagsChina’s auto sector growth to halve to 7%, Chinese auto industry, Chinese automobile manufacturers, China auto industry growth, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, CAAM, Dong Yang, China's auto market growth may halve to 7 percent this year