Passenger vehicles, which account for the majority of the auto market, stood at 19.23 million in the same period, marking an even steeper fall of 10.5 percent.

Purchases of new energy vehicles of pure electric and plug-in hybrids tumbled 43.7 percent to 95,000 last month, marking a fifth straight month of decline.

"Next year there will be different new energy vehicle manufacturing quotas for carmakers. I think there will also be an adjustment period and sales of new energy vehicles will be better than this year," Xu said.

Demand for electrics has plummeted since government subsidies were cut in mid-2019. The subsidies will end altogether by the end of next year. For the 11 months through November, new energy vehicles sales were up 1.3 percent to 1.04 million units. Earlier in the year, sales grew by double digits as drivers rushed to buy before the subsidy cuts. Sales of Chinese brands fell 11.4 percent to 806,000 in November, losing 2.7 percentage points of market share from a year earlier to 39.2 percent.

Only three of the top 15 Chinese passenger car brands saw increases in the first 11 months. They were Great Wall Motors, Chery and FAW.

Geely, one of the biggest Chinese brands, said its sales rose 1 percent year-on-year in November. China's biggest carmaker SAIC Motor saw its sales drop 9.6 percent due to poor performances from its joint ventures with General Motors.

New energy vehicle sales at BYD fell around 63 percent last month compared with that of a year ago.

Unlike the depressed new car market, used car sales were 13.25 million in the first 11 months, with a year-on-year increase of 5.01 percent, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association.

Luo Lei, deputy secretary-general of China Automobile Dealers Association, said China's second-hand vehicle market has great potential and is expected to flourish next year. He added that used cars are in good circulation and will ultimately lead to a better performance in new vehicle sales.