SHANGHAI, May 31 (Reuters) - China called on Saturday

for its automotive industry to halt brutal price wars, as a

threat to the sector's health and sustainable development, after

key executives jousted over pricing pressure following large

discounts offered to buyers.

Tension between some top players in the world's largest auto

market has spilled into the open as competition intensifies,

with price wars begun in early 2023 showing little sign of

abating, despite concern among both government and industry.

The industry ministry vowed to step up efforts to correct

what it called excessive competition, the official news agency

Xinhua said on Saturday.

"There are no winners in a 'price war', let alone a future,"

the agency cited an unidentified ministry official as saying.

The comments came after fresh incentives offered last week

on more than 20 models by electric vehicle giant BYD

, that prompted several rivals, such as Geely

and Chery, to follow suit.

The ministry's comments echo a similar call, also on

Saturday, by the China Association of Auto Manufacturers (CAAM)

for a truce in the price wars, saying they affect profitability

and efficiency.

It added that a new round of price war "panic" was touched

off in China after substantial discounts offered on May 23 by an

automaker it did not identify.

It proposed remedies such as auto companies sticking to the

principle of fair competition and larger players refraining from

market monopolies.

"Apart from reducing the price of goods according to law,

enterprises shall not dump goods at prices below cost," it

added.

BYD's incentives, which include government trade-in

subsidies, can cut the domestic cost of its BYD Seagull electric

hatchback to as little as 55,800 yuan ($7,750).

On Friday, a BYD executive had decried as alarmist comments

by the chief of Great Wall Motor that the industry was

"unhealthy".

Great Wall's Wei Jianjun had said pricing

pressure was hammering the bottom lines of car companies and

suppliers.

($1=7.1991 Chinese yuan renminbi)