Sinotruk March sales up 100% m/m to new high

Shanghai, April 2 (Gasgoo.com) As the Chinese auto market began to rally earlier this year, the country's largest heavy truck maker Sinotruk saw its sales of heavy-duty trucks in March grow nearly 100% month on month to 18,000 units, a record high of its monthly sales and a rise of 16% from a year earlier, said sina.com today.

Industry analysts said that the Chinese government's stimulus packages for its auto sector were the major booster of the heavy truck sales growth in March. In the auto industry restructuring and boost plans released last month, heavy-duty trucks are listed as a priority auto segment to make up 25% of the truck market.

In the first three months this year, China's heavy truck market has seen appreciable recovery. In February, Sinotruk sold 9,500 heavy trucks (up from 2,314 in January), Shaanxi Auto sold more than 4,000 units, and Foton Auman sold nearly 5,000 units, a big surge from 1190 units in January.

Last year, Sinotruk produced 75,664 heavy trucks, down 2.72% year on year and sold 79,218 units, up 8.73% y/y. Its parent Sinotruk Group produced 106,400 heavy trucks, up 6.16% y/y and sold 112,000 units, up 11.33% y/y, in the whole year of 2008.

Sinotruk, China’s No. 1 heavy-duty truck maker, aims to achieve growth in both output and sales in 2009, with heavy-duty trucks sales and output to reach 125,000 units each, and expects its heavy truck exports to hit 25,000 units.