Average price of imported cars goes up 50% in Jan-Aug

Shanghai. October 9 (Gasgoo.com) - In the first eight months, the average of imported car prices reached 400,000 yuan ($53,296) to 500,000 yuan ($66,620), which represents an increase of at least 50 percent compared to the corresponding period last year, official statistics show.

In the first eight months, China imported 196,000 cars, up 33 percent year-on-year. These imports include 90,000 sedans and 86,000 SUVs. The imports of mid and high-end SUVs grow faster than other vehicle segments.

Official statistics show that the average price of imported cars was $34,000 per unit in 2006; however, the average price of imported cars jumped to $53,300 or even higher in the first eight months this year.

Ding Hongxiang, general manager of China Trading Center for Automobile Import, said high-end vehicles become a major trend for China's automobile imports. "In 2007, China may import 250,000 vehicles, an increase of 10 percent over the previous year," he predicted.