Beijing Auto cuts 2008 car sales forecast

SHANGHAI, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Beijing Automotive Industry Holding, a Chrysler LLC partner in China, expects its vehicle sales this year will be a bit more than 800,000 units, falling short of its original forecast of 1 million due to the economic slowdown, its chairman said on Friday.

Xu Heyi told an industry forum that a planned listing of the company would still proceed according to the company's original plan, although no specific timeframe had been set.

He gave no further details regarding the listing plan, although official media reported early this year that Beijing Auto, which runs a car manufacturing venture with Hyundai Motor and controls truck maker Beiqi Foton Motor, planned to list its major car production assets on the domestic bourse to raise more than 2 billion yuan ($293 million).