China April car sales rose 44.5 pct on year: CPCA

Shanghai, May 8 (Gasgoo.com) China's passenger car sales, including minivans, rose 44.5 percent in April from a year earlier, helped by government policy measures to bolster demand in both urban and rural areas, data released by an industry association showed Thursday.

Passenger vehicle sales, including minivans, came to 800,541 units in April, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said. The figure was up 3.7 percent from March sales of 771,898 vehicles.

Total passenger car sales in China from January through April were 2,972,308 vehicles, up 24.8 percent from a year earlier.

The association said the only reason for China's car sales boom is the government's industry stimulus policies, which cover measures to boost vehicle purchases through tax breaks and subsidies, restructure the industry through mergers and a new focus on independent Chinese brands and development of alternative energy vehicles.