Gasgoo.com (Shanghai July 12) - Automobile sales in China over the first six months of the year totaled 9.59 million units, growing 2.93 percent from the first half of 2011, National Business Daily reported today, citing figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. A total of 9.52 million vehicles were manufactured during the six month period, equivalent to year-on-year growth of 4.08 percent.
According to CAAM Executive Vice Chairman and Secretary General Dong Yang's analysis, sales growth in the first quarter of the year started off slowly, and eventually increased on the way to June. The CAAM maintain that total growth this year will be between five and eight percent. CAAM Deputy General Secretary Yao Jie adds that the current state of the Chinese economy is relatively complex, with the country under a great deal of macroeconomic pressure that prevented automobiles production and sales growth rates from increasing in the short-term.
Chinese automobile sales last month grew 9.86 percent last month. Mr. Dong believes that the market is currently recovering, adding that "due to stimulatory policies and [other] positive influences, the market should be able to grow at least five percent in the second half of this year without any problem." He predicts that even eight percent growth is entirely possible. The CAAM expects total automobile sales this year to reach the 20 million mark.
Domestic manufacturers' performance in the first half of the year still leaves much to desire, with own brand passenger automobile sales totaling 3.15 million units, 0.2 percent less than 2011. According to Mr. Dong, although own brands have made significant advances in product quality and brand competitiveness, they still lag behind their foreign joint venture rivals. He predicts their plight may grow even direr in the latter half of the year, with weaker manufacturers facing the threat of being entirely forced out of the market.
