Vehicle sales in China, the world's second-biggest auto market, climbed by a quarter in the first eight months, boosted by a fast-growing economy and carmakers' new product offerings and price incentives, an industry body said yesterday.
January-August sales of domestically made vehicles stood at 5.69 million units, gaining 24.95 percent from a year ago, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Sales in August, a relatively slack month, even rose by 26.77 percent year-on-year to 671,600 vehicles.
Encouraged by the strong performance, Zhang Xiaoyu, vice-chairman of the China Machinery Industry Federation, predicted that full-year sales would exceed 9 million vehicles, up from 7.22 million units in 2006.
China's economy grew 11.9 percent in the first half. The full-year pace is widely forecast to hit 11 percent although the government is taking measures to cool the economy.
Many people buy cars to realize their dream of individual mobility as they clean up in the booming domestic stock market. The Shanghai Composite Index has rocketed by almost 90 percent this year.
Carmakers are also launching new products and cutting prices to woo clients, most of whom are first-time buyers.
A total of 52 all-new and upgraded models in the passenger car sector, including sedans, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs), will be produced in China this year, according to CSM Worldwide (Shanghai) Ltd, a US industry consultancy.
South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Co's joint venture with Beijing Automotive Industry Corp last week slashed prices of subcompact Accent, compact Elantra and mid-sized Sonata by 5,000-16,000 yuan, or 6-14 percent.
The move is expected to trigger a new bout of price wars in the domestic car market.
In the first eight months, sedan sales jumped 26.31 percent to 3.01 million units, in which 28 percent came from Chinese brands, such as Chery, Geely and Brilliance.
Sales of SUVs surged by half to 217,200 units; MPV sales reached 143,500 units, up 20.48 percent. Sales of commercial vehicles - trucks and buses - surged by 27.08 percent to 1.66 million units in the period.
Source: China Daily
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