China's annual auto sales to hit 20M units by 2015

Shanghai, October 21 (Gasgoo.com) China's annual auto sales will likely reach 20 million units by 2015 as demand will be growing with rising family income, Dongfeng Motor Co. vice president Ren Yong said today, Dow Jones reported.

Auto sales in China may reach 13 million units this year, which means that 54% more cars will be sold by 2015, Ren said at the Tokyo International Automotive Conference. Dongfeng Motor is Nissan Motor Corp's Chinese venture with China's Dongfeng Motor Corp.

In September, China sold a total of 1.33 million vehicles, including trucks, buses and passenger cars, up 78% year on year, thanks to government stimulus measures. For the first nine months, total sales rose 34% to 9.7 million, with passenger-vehicle sales up 42% to 7.2 million units.

China is one of the few countries whose auto sector post robust growth amid the global financial crisis. The country has seen ever-increasing demand for vehicles, while demand in major markets like the U.S. has been shrunk.

The great growth potential in China is making the country become the world's biggest auto market, and it will probably realize this goal this year. In January China sold more vehicles than the U.S.

China's auto production since the beginning of this year hit 10 million units yesterday, making it the world's third country (after the U.S. and Japan) to surpass the annual output mark of this level.