China: Car sales up 20.4% year-on-year in Q1
Friday, April 11, 2008, AutomotiveWorld.com
A report carried by Xinhua says almost all the major global vehicle manufacturers surpassed the automotive industry average in China by way of sales growth in the first quarter of CY2008. Passenger car sales in the country rose 20.4% in the quarter, to 1.85 million units.
Ford, including its Ford, Volvo, Mazda, Jaguar and Land Rover brands, saw sales increase by 47% to 90,791 vehicles in Q1. Sales were particularly boosted by Mazda and Ford's joint venture with Changan Automotive Group. The JV itself posted an increase of 58%, accounting for 61,789 vehicles.
Volkswagen AG, which posted sales of 268,200 vehicles in the January-March 2008 period, expects to cross the one million unit mark in 2008. Sales increased by 32.5% compared with the corresponding quarter of 2007.
Audi recorded sales of 30,188 units (+25%), while Bentley accounted for 126 cars (+137.8%). Volkswagen's two Chinese JVs, FAW Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen, led the domestic sales rankings, the report says.
BMW AG too posted a significant rise in sales in Q1, up 43.2% year-on-year, to 14,574 units. This includes a 20.4% increase in sales for its local JV with Brilliance Automotive, accounting for 8,035 units. The venture assembles 3- and 5-Series sedans.
Imports of CBU BMW cars rose by 83.9% in the first quarter. These included the OEM's 7-Series model. Sales for rival Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, were up 40% year-on-year in the period.
In the first three months in 2008, foreign brands secured 74.2% of the Chinese passenger car market, of which Japanese brands accounted for 29%, German brands took 21.3% and 13% went to American brands, Xinhua reports, citing data published by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
Published on Friday, April 11, 2008
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