Gasgoo.com (Shanghai June 14) - Zhao Jing (not her real name), a salesperson at a Shanghai GM Wuling dealership, hasn't seen overtime duty since February. "Compared with last year we are relatively free now," she said. Her case is just a typical example of how much growth in the Chinese automobile industry has slowed down this year, with sales in her dealership half the amount of those in 2010.
Dong Yang, chairman of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, believes that it will be hard for the industry to reach its target of 10 percent growth this year, with the risk that industry growth might be lower than the GDP average. Shanghai GM Wuling has already seen its sales volume in May drop 10.53 percent from last year, when the brand was still experiencing tremendous growth.
Mr. Dong puts part of the blame on the phasing out of preferential purchase policies, which saw buyers of small fuel-efficient cars eligible for subsidies of up to 6,000 yuan ($926.50). Rising fuel prices and the effect of the recent natural disasters on auto part supply chains were also pointed out as reasons for the poor sales.
