Shanghai, October 29 (Gasgoo.com) China will lead the U.S. for a "long time" as the world's biggest auto market, where demand will grow next year even as stimulus measures are reduced, said Nick Reilly, General Motors' international operations president, Bloomberg reported.
Vehicle sales in China, the world's most populous nation of over 1.3 billion, may increase to more than 13 million units next year from about 12.5 million in 2009, Reilly told reporters in Seoul yesterday. "I don't see the U.S. being anywhere near that," he said.
Earlier this year, the Chinese government cut vehicle taxes and introduced auto subsidies in rural areas to boost demand. In the first nine months, 9.7 million vehicles were sold in China, up 34.24% year-on-year and exceeding total auto sales of last year. September sales rose 77.88% to a record 1.3 million units.
Growth will be "nothing like as fast as this year because we have particular government stimulus in the auto industry," he said. "My guess is, they'll probably wind down incentives slowly, but I don't think they'll just take them off at once."
The pace of China's auto industry expansion may slow next year if the government gradually cuts back incentives, Reilly said. "I'd expect even if incentives come off, it will grow 10 percent per year," he added.
As the largest foreign automaker in China, GM doubled its September sales in the nation to 181,148 vehicles. The company sold 1.29 million units in the first nine months, more than its full-year China sales in 2008.
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