China remains No.1 in auto sales

After surpassing the United States in 2009 to become No. 1 in vehicle production and sales, China is expected to keep its title this year, the China Business News reported Wednesday.

From January to November, China's passenger car sales, including sedans, sport-utility vehicles (SUV) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV), reached 11.85 million units, up 31 percent from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, passenger car sales in the US reached 10.41 million.

The car sales volume in China is expected to surpass that of the US by more than 3 million units, including the sales figures for commercial vehicles, which have not been released.

China's passenger car sales rose to a record monthly high of 1.28 million units in November, gaining 27 percent year-on-year, the China Passenger Car Association said Tuesday. MPV and SUV sales grew by 50.9 percent and 77.3 percent last month, respectively.

Shanghai GM and Shanghai VW sold more than 100,000 units on average in November. And Shanghai GM is expected to be the first one in China to reach 1 million vehicle sales this year, with its sales in the first 11 months reaching 948,000 units.

Regarding that December is the traditional purchase month for vehicles, China is stepping closer to the first place again on auto sales.