Chinese car sales soar 33 per cent
Associated Press
BEIJING — Passenger car sales in China's booming vehicle market soared by 33 per cent in the first two months of this year compared with the same period of 2006, an industry association said Friday.
Total vehicle sales, which also counts trucks and buses, rose 25 per cent, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said.
China surpassed Japan last year to become the world's No. 2 vehicle market after the United States based on strong truck and bus sales, but is still in third place for sedans.
Sedan sales in January and February totalled 712,200 units, while total vehicle sales were 1.3 million units, said the CAAM, the main government-authorized industry group.
China's vehicle sales, including trucks and buses, rose 25.1 per cent last year to 7.2 million units, according to the CAAM. Passenger car sales rose to 3.8 million.
In January and February, the top-selling auto model in China was the Santana sedan made by Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., a joint venture involving German's Volkswagen AG, with 30,500 units sold, according to the CAAM.
The top-selling auto maker was General Motors Corp.'s Shanghai General Motors joint venture at 67,500 units, according to the CAAM.
The top Chinese auto maker was Chery Automobile Co., with 51,600 units sold, the group said.
