China's auto sales surpass 1.14 mln units in June

Shanghai, July 9 (Gasgoo.com) China sold more than 1.14 million vehicles in June, up 36.48% year on year (y/y), exceeding the 1.1 million mark for the fourth straight month, xinhuanet.com reported today, citing the latest industry data.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said both the auto output and sales in China set a half-year record high in the first six months. From January to June, China's auto sales came to 6.099 million units, up 17.69% y/y, while 5.99 million vehicles were produced in the period, up 15.22% y/y.

The increases are attributed to a series of government stimulus measures to boost domestic consumption. China in January halved the purchase tax on passenger cars to 5% for models with engine of less than 1.6 liters, a move to shore up the domestic auto sales.

The CAAM said passenger vehicle sales from January to June rose 25.62% y/y to 4.534 million units (with 872,900 units sold in June), while commercial-vehicle sales fell 0.5% to 1.57 million. China overtook the U.S. in the half-year auto sales by about 27%.

The association is "cautiously optimistic" about the auto sales in the second half of this year, predicting that China may sell more than 11 million vehicles in 2009, higher than its April forecast of 10.2 million units.