Vehicle production in China dropped in April for the first time in three years, while buyers anticipating lower prices were delaying new purchases, the China Business Weeklyreported Saturday.

Production of all vehicles dropped just over six percent in April compared with March, while sales declined more than eight percent, according to industry figures carried in the paper.

The drop was smaller for cars alone: nearly two percent for production and three percent for sales.

The decline in sales was caused by an expected decrease in taxes on imported vehicles that will be effective this year. This and the continued lowering of prices of models made in China were influencing buyers, who were choosing to hold off new purchases, the report said.

While this year's average monthly sales of vehicles was around 45 percent above that of last year, sales for May were expected to be only between 15 and 20 percent higher than in May 2003, auto sector officials said in the Financial Times Saturday.

The figures were made public during the opening Tuesday of the Beijing Auto Show, attended by nearly all the world's major manufacturers.

Last year, China produced two million cars, a rise of 84 percent over 2002. But more than 200,000 were not sold.