Shanghai, March 4 (Gasgoo.com) Tianjin Port, China's major auto import customs center, has reported a strong increase in auto imports for the beginning of this year, driven by the growing demand in China's auto market, now the world's biggest, Xinhua reported this week.
According to customs statistics, January imports to the port hit 24,000 vehicles with a total value of $820 million. Both figures show a year-on-year growth of 120%. Tianjin's customs handle more than half of China's total auto imports.
Among the total, 14,000 vehicles were imported by foreign-funded firms in China, and 5,767 units were imported by state-owned enterprises. All these companies together achieved 82.4% of China's total auto imports in January.
The customs figures indicated 73.4% of the January auto imports via Tianjin Port were from the European Union and Japan.
Customs officials said that the increase in auto imports was mainly boosted by the growing demand in the China's vehicle market. Global automakers have been looking to the Chinese market for their sales growth.
China imported 56,000 vehicles in January, up 140% from a year earlier, according to statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
