China surpasses US auto market in H1 sales

• Source: Ce.cn
• [08:29 July 10 2009]
• Comments

In this June 30, 2009 file photo, an employee walks past Fengshen S30 sedans parked near the assembly line at a factory of Dongfeng Motor Corp. in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province. Boosted by government incentives, China's auto sales soared 36.5 percent in June from a year earlier to 1.14 million vehicles, an industry group announced Thursday, July 9, 2009. [AP Photo]

China surpassed the United States as the world's biggest auto market for the first half of 2009 after June sales soared 36.5 percent from a year earlier, according to data reported Thursday.

Vehicle sales on the Chinese mainland in June rose to 1.14 million, the second-highest month to date after April's 1.15 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said. Passenger car sales hit a monthly record of 872,900 units.

Total sales for the first half of the year rose to 6.1 million, up 17.7 percent from a year earlier, the industry group said. That outpaced the United States, where passenger car sales in the same period plunged to 4.8 million amid an economic slump.

China's auto sales weakened in late 2008 as the global financial crisis hit but rebounded after Beijing launched a stimulus package with sales tax cuts, subsidies to trade in older cars and other incentives.

Global automakers are looking to China to help drive revenues as they struggle with falling demand in North American and other markets.

"It was really hard for our auto industry to achieve such a proud result against a backdrop of general gloom in the international auto industry," the association said in a statement.

China, with 1.3 billion people, has long been expected to overtake the United States as the biggest vehicle market. But the US economic slump hastened that process by depressing American sales while China surged ahead.

China surpassed US auto sales for five of the past six months. The United States pulled ahead temporarily in May before dropping back with 859,847 cars sold in June.