BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s most globally high-profile and successful carmaker, Geely, is forecasting flat sales this year, a sharp slowdown from 2018 as the country’s giant auto market struggles with slowing economic growth and more cautious consumers.

FILE PHOTO: The emblem of the Geely automobile maker logo is seen at the IEEV New Energy Vehicles Exhibition in Beijing, China October 18, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd 0175.HK, the main listed unit of the Geely empire which owns Volvo Cars and Proton, posted sales growth of 20 percent in 2018.

That was despite a slide in sales at a host of other carmakers and forecasts that last year was the first in decades to see a fall in sales in China’s overall car market.

The gloomy forecast for 2019 highlights how the year is likely to be tough for all carmakers, including General Motors GM.N and Great Wall Motor 601633.SS.

Geely said in a filing that despite its growth last year, it had missed a sales target of 1.58 million cars by around 5 percent.

Its sales started to slow in the last quarter of 2018, with a 44 percent drop in December alone, according to monthly sales data filings.

Some other domestic and international firms have flagged a sharp drop in demand in China at the end of last year, including Apple Inc AAPL.O, which cut its global sales forecast due to Chinese weakness.

Geely’s chairman Li Shufu said in a new year’s address that the year ahead was pivotal.

“We must lay the foundation for our survival, otherwise we may soon face a period of demise,” he said in the address posted on Geely’s social media last year.

China’s auto market likely contracted last year for the first time since at least 1990, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said last month, citing economic shifts, weakness in smaller cities and “international reasons” - which could refer to the Sino-U.S trade war.

The industry body expects around 28 million vehicle sales in 2019, roughly level with 2018.