FAW sells over 230000 vehicles in May

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai June 13) - FAW Group sold a total of 236,000 vehicles last month, China Business News reported today, citing official figures from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. The sales figure represents year-on-year growth of 32.8 percent for the manufacturer, whose sales increased 18 percent the previous month. The growth rate is about 18 percent higher than the industry average. FAW's market share has reached 14.9 percent.

FAW-VW remained the manufacturer's most lucrative joint venture last month, with its sales exceeding 120,000 units. FAW Toyota, meanwhile, sold a total of 53,000 vehicles in May. Year-on-year growth rates for the two JVs were 51 percent and 39.5 percent, respectively. Sales figures for FAW's own brands have not yet been announced.

FAW has sold a total of 1.11 million vehicles from January to May. Its year-on-year growth rate for the five month period, 7.1 percent, was a full six percent above the industry average.

Earlier this month, the National Audit Office released a report stating that FAW's invested funds in research and development were relatively low compared to its competitors. The report also pointed out that FAW's own brands are still not very profitable, with most of the manufacturer's earnings coming from its two JVs.

FAW Group President Xu Xianping has previously confirmed the manufacturer's intent to introduce 17 new models in the next five years and sell over five million vehicles by 2015, with two million of those sales being of own brand models.