China Q1 auto imports 59,000 units

According to Chinese Customs data, in the first quarter of this year, China imported a total of 59,000 vehicles; the amount reached 1.95 billion U.S. dollars, including 17,000 low power engine vehicle units, an increase of 31.4%, accounted for nearly 30% of total.

Customs official said that since the last April 1st, relevant departments increased the consumption tax rate of vehicles over 2500ML, therefore the low power engine vehicles imports bounced back. Meanwhile, auto industry insiders believe that the low power engine vehicle market outlook is very promising because of fuel-efficient, low-cost of maintenance.

Customs statistics show that the engines between 1.5L and 2.5L petrol cars and SUVs are most popular, which imported 8,000 units and 4,000 units in the first quarter of 2007, with growth of 4.2% and 2% respectively. According to BMW's data, BMW Minicooper sales growth was 145% in China last year. "With the economic development, it will inevitably bring about the escalation of auto consumption, auto imports this year will experience considerable market demand." a Customs officer said.