China April auto sales hit 1.39m units, 1m left in stock

Shanghai, May 7 (Gasgoo.com) China April vehicle sales came to 1.39 million units, up 9.8% month on month and 40.02% year on year, with auto stockpiles in auto companies and market dealerships reaching almost 1m units for the first four months of 2010, according to data released by China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC).

AJ Securities researcher Chu Yanhui told reporters that the data revealed by CATARC has counted in the vehicles sold without roadworthy licenses, thus the actual auto stocks would be smaller. Normal inventory of a dealer is for the sales of 1-1.5 months, and the current auto stockpiles are for about 0.75 months, which is tolerable.

In April, China vehicle production dropped by 9.82% m/m and rose by 35.18% y/y to 1.52m units. Among various passenger vehicles, only the output of passenger cars of cross models fell by 6.29% m/m. Other types of vehicles all saw a growth from a year earlier, of which the SUV and MPV models increased positively with output rising 110.61% and 97.28% y/y, respectively.

In the period of January to April, China carmakers produced 5.86 million vehicles, up 60.69%, and sold 4.86 million units, up 35.19% y/y.