China auto sales in May up 34% to 1.12M units

Shanghai, June 9 (Gasgoo.com) China auto sales in May grew 34% from a year earlier to 1.12 million units, extending the country's lead over the U.S. as the world's largest auto market this year to date, xinhuanet.com reported today, citing industry figures.

China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said today that the country's passenger-vehicle sales jumped 47% to 829,100 units in May (shy of a monthly record of 831,000 sold in April). Sales of sedans, MPVs, SUVs and minivans climbed 29.6% to 3.65 million units in the first five months, according to China Passenger Car Association.

From January to May, China auto sales rose 14% to 4.96 million units, CAAM said. By contrast, auto sales in the U.S. fell 37% to 3.95 million during the five-month period.  China sold 1.153 million vehicles in April, up 25% from a year earlier. In March, sales rose 5% year on year to 1.11 million units.

Sales of small cars have been driving growth, said an industry analyst. Since the beginning of this year, China has cut sales taxes on small cars and offered subsidies to rural buyers of minivans and light trucks.

The Chinese government's auto support measures helped General Motors, the largest overseas automaker in China, to boost sales in the country by 34% to 671,148 vehicles in the first five months.

Commercial vehicle sales in China fell 1.6% in the first five months to 1.3 million units. Government policies to help CV makers aren't sufficient and more measures are needed, CAAM said.

China is expected to sell 10.2 million vehicles in 2009, up 8.7% year on year, the CAAM said in April.