Dongfeng Motor sells 1.05 mln cars in '09, up 46%

Shanghai, January 8 (Gasgoo.com) Major Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Group sold 1.05 million passenger cars in 2009, up 45.6% year on year, as government's stimulus boosted auto demand, Reuters reported today, citing an industry source.

Dongfeng, the China partner of PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Honda Motor and Nissan Motor, saw its passenger car sales in December jump 64.4% to 112,137 units, the source said. That marks a speed-up from 37.8% growth of the first three quarters of 2009.

Dongfeng's overall vehicle sales in 2009 came to 1.43 million units, up 35.2% and exceeding its own forecast of 1.3 million units. Its vehicle sales in December surged 74.8% to 150,887 units, said the source.

Thanks to its incentives such as tax cuts for small cars and subsidies for clean vehicles, China stood out last year amid the global auto industry downturn and surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest auto market.

China's auto sales have been extraordinarily strong this year because of government policy support. Dongfeng is also among the major beneficiaries, said an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities.

SAIC Motor Corp, China's top automaker and a partner of General Motors and Volkswagen AG, sold 1.6 million passenger cars in 2009, up 57%.