AsianFin -- China’s car sales growth eased to 6.9% year-on-year in July, reaching 1.85 million vehicles, down sharply from an 18.6% increase in June, according to data released Friday by the China Passenger Car Association.

The slowdown is partly attributed to weakening demand for hybrids as regulators in the world’s largest auto market intensify efforts to curb a damaging price war that has hurt the industry.

New energy vehicles (NEVs)—including pure electric and plug-in hybrids—continued to outperform gasoline cars, though their sales growth decelerated to 12% in July from 29.7% in June. This marked the fifth consecutive month that NEVs outsold traditional fuel-powered vehicles.

Hybrid demand remained subdued, with combined sales of plug-in and extended-range hybrids falling 3.6% compared to July last year. Advances in battery technology and expanding charging infrastructure have eased consumers’ range anxiety around pure electric vehicles, further dampening interest in hybrids.