SAIC leads China carmakers' Jan-Aug sales

Shanghai, September 30 (Gasgoo.com) A Chinese auto industry association announced on Sept. 28 the rankings of domestic automakers in terms of sales from January to August, with SAIC Motor as the No. 1 seller, the Global Times reported.

SAIC Motor, FAW Group, Dongfeng Motor Group are the top 3 automakers, followed by Beijing Auto, Guangzhou Auto, Chery Auto, BYD, Brilliance Auto and Jianghua Auto, which rank 4th to 10th, respectively, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

SAIC, FAW and Dongfeng each sold over 1 million vehicles in the first eight months of the year. The top 10 automakers on the list sold nearly 7 million units during the period, making up 84% of China's auto sales of the eight months, the CAAM said.

China's auto sales in September is expected to exceed 1.2 million units, and will likely total around 1.25 million units, a senior government economist told an auto forum on Friday, Dow Jones reported.

Full-year auto sales in China could total around 12.6 million units, and could possibly exceed 13 million units, said the industry expert from the State Information Center.

China's auto industry posted its strongest monthly growth so far this year in August, when overall auto sales rose 81.7% from a year earlier to 1.14 million units.