PEKING (dpa-AFX) - The important Chinese car market remained under pressure in June. Sales of passenger cars to end customers fell by 8 percent year-on-year to 1.76 million cars, according to preliminary data released by the China Passenger Car Association (PCA) in Beijing on Wednesday. There had already been slightly fewer sales in the People's Republic in the two previous months compared to the previous year. Compared to the previous month, however, the number of sales in June rose by two percent.

Sales of alternative drive systems - primarily battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids - once again rose sharply by 30 percent year-on-year to 864,000 vehicles.

China is regarded as the leading market for electromobility. Among other things, the government in Beijing wants to improve air quality in the country's smog-ridden megacities by promoting sales. In addition, domestic manufacturers are technologically on a par with traditional Western and Japanese carmakers in the electric sector and are often cheaper.

China is the largest car market in the world and as such is also the most important single market for the German manufacturers Volkswagen (including its subsidiaries Audi and Porsche), BMW and Mercedes-Benz./mis/men/jha/