FAW sells 1.42 mln vehicles in Jan-Nov, up 8.8%

Shanghai, December 18 (Gasgoo.com) Chinese auto giant FAW Group sold 103,342 vehicles in November, bringing its auto sales of the first 11 months this year to 1,423,511 units, an 8.8% rise from a year earlier and 16.5% market share, reported Shanghai Securities News today.

FAW-VW, the joint venture between FAW Group and Volkswagen AG, defended and kept its sedan sales championship title in November by selling 43,508 units, which has brought its total sales in the Jan-Nov period to 467,343, up 9.1% year on year.

Of the joint venture's Jan-Nov total sales figure, the sales of the Audi brand totaled 98,790 units, up 14.3%; the sales of New Bora exceeded 10,000 units in two months after its launch, and this model has become a major contributor to FAW VW's sales growth.

FAW Car sold 108,785 vehicles from January to November, up 49.8% year on year, much higher the industry average growth of 8.5%. The self-developed Besturn brand excelled in the market performance by selling 43,870 units in the first 11 months, up 117.1% from a year earlier.

This year to date, FAW Group not only has posted higher growth in sales than the industry average in the domestic market, but also has accelerated its expansion in the North American market.

An insider said that FAW's Mexican partner Grupo Elektra (a subsidiary of Grupo Salinas) is speeding up construction of an assembly factory in central Mexico. The facility is expected to assemble (from imported FAW kits) up to 100,000 cars a year for the N. American market.