January 16, 2006

China becomes world's second-largest auto market

Beijing, China – Statistics from the China Automotive Industry Association (CAIA) indicate that China has surpassed Japan as the world's second-largest auto market, behind the U.S. More than 5.9 million automobiles were sold in China in 2005, while 5.8 million were sold in Japan. Of those, 5.76 million were domestically produced, and the remainder imported.

The number has risen dramatically from 2001, when 2.73 million units were sold; China now represents 8.7 per cent of global sales, up from 4.3 per cent in 2001. China also accounted for 23.2 per cent of total global growth in 2005.

The top three automakers in China are First Automotive Works (983,100 units in 2005), Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (917,500 units) and Dongfeng Motor Corporation (729,000). Among imports, sales of GM and its joint ventures jumped 35 per cent in 2005 to 665,390 units, giving the automaker an estimated market share of 11.2 per cent in China.

More News....