Motor Vehicles and Parts News
- June passenger car sales up 29 percent
Date: 10-Jul-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
THE country's passenger car sales rose at the second-fastest pace this year in June as automakers cut prices to lure consumers in a market where vehicle ownership is about one quarter of the world average.
Passenger car sales, including multipurpose vehicles and sport-utility vehicles, rose 29 percent to 511,900 units in June, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement yesterday. Sales of sedans, compacts and mini-cars rose 27 percent to 384,400 units.
Chery Automobile Co., Honda Motor Co. and other carmakers are offering discounts as they compete for buyers with the introduction of at least 15 models in the first five months. At least seven automakers announced price cuts within two weeks in June.
'Carmakers are under pressure to reach their mid-year sales targets and are therefore offering more discounts,'' said Song Bingshen, a Beijing-based analyst with China Securities Co. 'As companies take better control over their costs, there is still room for further discounts.''
Chery, the country's fourth-largest carmaker, cut prices on the Qiyun sedan by as much as 23,000 yuan (US$3,000) in June while Tianjin FAW Xiali Automobile Co. lowered prices for the third time this year on its Vizi cars.
In the first six months of the year, passenger car sales rose 22 percent to 3.08 million units, the association said.
One of Volkswagen's joint ventures replaced a General Motors Corp. unit as the biggest single carmaker in China in the first half helped by sales of Audi-brand sedans.
FAW Volkswagen Automobile Co., Volkswagen's venture with China FAW Group Corp., had 9.56 percent of the car market in China in the first six months, compared with Shanghai General Motors Co.'s 8.82 percent, according to the automobile association. Shanghai GM's market share last year was 9.54 percent compared with FAW Volkswagen's 8.91 percent.
Shanghai GM posted slower sales growth in the first half as it introduced fewer new models, according to figures posted on the company's Web site July 4. The venture boosted sales 12 percent during the period, compared with a 49 percent gain in the first half of 2006.
Shanghai GM added two new or revamped models in the first half, including the luxury Buick Park Avenue Flagship, compared with about 10 a year earlier.
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