China first-half auto sales up 30% to 7.18 mln units

Shanghai, July 5 (Gasgoo.com) China's vehicle sales in the first half of the year surged 30.45% from a year earlier to 7.18 million units, Xinhua News reported today, citing an industry research center. First-half sales of passenger cars rose 25.6% to 5.42 million.

Total vehicle sales, including buses and trucks, increased 14% in June to 1.13 million, the China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATRC) said today. Passenger-car sales in June grew 10.9% from a year earlier to 839,228 units, slowing down from 34% growth in April and 25% in May.

China's auto production, meanwhile, jumped 44.37% year on year to 8.47 million units in the Jan-June period. In June, auto production came to 1.29 million units, up 12.4% year on year, but down 1.41% month on month. Automakers in China were previously warned of overcapacity.

After becoming the world's largest auto market, China continued to lead the U.S. in total auto sales in the first half, with U.S. deliveries rising to 5.6 million during the period. Vehicle sales in the Chinese market may rise 17% this year to 16 million units.

China Association of Automobile Manufacturers will publish separate June sales data later this month. According to the association's data, monthly sales have risen more than 10.9 percent for 14 straight months through May.

Last month the Chinese government decided to extend its auto trade-in subsidy program by seven months to the end of this year, to help get highly polluting vehicles off the road and stimulate auto market demands.