China H1 auto output, sales both top 5 mln units

Shanghai, July 11 (Gasgoo.com) China's auto industry broke the five-million-unit record in both production and sales in the first half of 2008, reported xinhuanet.com today, citing the latest statistics released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on Thursday.

Carmakers in China produced nearly 5.2 million vehicles from January to June, up 16.7% over one year earlier, while sales of vehicles made in China hit 5.18 million units, a rise of 18.5% over the figure of last year's first six months, said the industry association. The top 10 Chinese carmakers by sales in the six months are SAIC, FAW, Dongfeng Motors, Changan Auto, Beijing Auto, Guangzhou Auto, Chery Auto, Jianghuai Auto, Hafei Auto and Brilliance Auto. They sold 4.35 million vehicles from January to June, representing 84% of the total auto sales in the country over that period.

Specifically, some 3.65 million passenger vehicles were made in China in the January-June period, growing by nearly 16% year on year, and there were 3.6 million passenger vehicles sold in the first half in the country, up 17%. The top 10 carmakers in the sales of passenger vehicles are SAIC-GM-Wuling, Shanghai VW, FAW VW, Shanghai GM, Chery Auto, FAW Toyota, Changan Auto, Beijing Hyundai, Dongfeng Nissan and Guangzhou Honda. They sold more than 2.13 million passenger vehicles, or 59% of the country's total sales.  

Over the same period, Chinese carmakers built about 1.55 million commercial vehicles, a year-on-year growth of 18.5%, while about 1.57 million commercial vehicles were sold in the Chinese market, rising up to 22% over last year. The top 10 carmakers in the sales of commercial vehicles are Beiqi Foton, Dongfeng Motors, FAW, Jianghuai Auto, Sinotruk, Jinbei Auto, Changan Auto, Jiangling Motors, Shaanxi Auto and Nanjing Auto. They sold over 1.1 million commercial vehicles, or 70% of the country's total sales.

Dong Yang, vice chairman of the CAAM, predicted earlier that China's domestic auto sales is expected to rise by 15% to 10 million units this year, as the fast-growing economy created sound environment for the development of the auto industry in the country.