Gasgoo.com (Shanghai) - A total of 19.31 million automobiles were sold in China last year, representing year-on-year growth of 4.3 percent. Most analysts originally predicted a similar single digit sales growth rate for this year as well. However, in actuality, year-on-year growth rates for automobile production and sales volumes for the first nine months of the year ended up being 12.8 percent and 12.7 percent respectively. Those rates were even higher for passenger automobiles, reaching 13.7 percent and 14.0 percent respectively. Even if quarterly sales growth rates for the final quarter of the year remain zero, 2013's total vehicle sales volume will total 21.09 million units, representing sales growth of at least 9.3 percent. As a result, there is a good chance total sales growth rates for this year will be in the double digits.

In the first half of 2013 Chinese car manufacturers’ shipments to dealers were up 18 percent over the same period of the previous year. JSC Automotive, the consultancy specializing in the Chinese automotive market, expects growth to slow to an annualized rate of some 10 percent. In November, the Central Government will present the long-awaited catalog of economic measures to the party’s Central Committee. This will indicate whether China is serious about tackling restructuring of the economy. Such restructuring would have a great impact on the automotive market.