Home Business Politics Life Culture��Edu Sci��Tech Sports Photos
��Search
China Observer
�� Judging China's "monetary" future
�� How much of Chinese New Year's flavor can be passed on?
�� China eyes balanced economic development
Photos
�� Folk art performance
�� Costumes with facial makeup of Beijing opera
�� Mobile photo-taking on camel back made good fortune
��Home>>Business
Auto sales to climb 12% driven by small car push
www.chinanews.cn 2006-02-04 09:32:12
(Source: China Daily)
BEIJING, Feb. 4 - Car sales in China will reach a record high of 6.4
million to 6.6 million this year, a 12 per cent rise year-on-year, the
China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) has forecast.
Fuelled by the central government policy to encourage the use of smaller
and more energy-efficient models, passenger cars will lead the growth to
place China as the world's second-largest auto market after the United
States.
In a press release, CAAM, one of the most important sources of industry
information, reported that in 2005, 5.9 million auto units were sold in
China, higher than Japan's 5.8 million and Germany's 5.2 million.
However, opinions in Chinese language press argued, after taking away
China's export and the factor of double counting, the number of units
actually sold in China was around 5.7 million.
This year, though, car dealers are reportedly already seeing a promising
trend, especially during their heated sales campaigns before and during
Spring Festival.
Even before the festival, a Tianjin dealership for Geely a domestic brand
reported 70 buyers were still waiting for the delivery of their new cars,
said Zhao Jian, the dealership's general manager.
Strong sales were reported in Beijing and Guangzhou as well. Braving
sub-zero weather on Friday, in Beijing's Yayuncun (Asian Games Village)
auto market a man surnamed Wu told China Daily that he wanted to buy a
car.
"I began to think about having a car a long time ago," he said. "And in
this festival season, and seeing such tempting festival sales, I really
can no longer wait to let my dream come true."
According to the Beijing Municipal Statistics Bureau, there are 1.54
million privately owned automobiles in the capital city.
Including the units owned by various institutions, the city has 2.15
million automobiles, or about one car for every seven people.
Car sales are also on the rise in some second-tier cities.
"We cannot rest for a single day," said a sales manager of a Ford
dealership in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province.
"There were buyers knocking on our door on Lunar New Year's Eve. They
drove away even the demonstration cars we had in our showroom."
The central government wanted all local governments to lift their
restrictions on smaller models before the end of March as part of its
effort to reduce China's dependence on oil imports.
Currently, 16 China-based car manufacturers are reportedly vying to roll
out 25 new, smaller, low-emission models.
Copyright� 2004 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Disclaimer: viewpoints in the website do not represent China News Service
Learn Chinese, Chinese Online Class, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
