China Light Vehicel Retail Sales - May 2007

Last month, passenger car sales in China slip by 10.5 percent month on month, according to the industry association. Sales of MPVs (multi-purpose vehicle) witnessed a steep dip of 22.38 percent, leading the down-turn from all segments of passenger cars.

Analysts say the monthly decline is normal, as regard to the seasonal reason, the sales in May is a good result comparing with last year, with new models launched and the price incentives driving the market.

Sales of passenger cars, including MPVs and SUVs(sport-utility vehicle), topped 488,500 units in May, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said this week. Despite the drop compared with sales in Apr., the sales of last month still rose 23.4 percent year on year, with all the segments jumped.

The following table shows the sales of every segment of passenger car in May.

Segment      sales         change (M/M)      change (Y/Y)
Sedan         368,000         -10.64%               23.11%
MPV              15,900          -22.38%               4.23%
SUV              28,000           -1.99%                66.95%
Crossover   76,600           -9.87%                 17.94%

The statistics also shows China's auto industry's steady growth during the past five months. The sales of passenger cars yeay to date reached 2.5727 million units, an increase of 21.09 percent year on year.