China car sales jump 63% in March
Manufacturers scramble to meet demand driven by tax cuts, subsidies
Passenger car sales in China soared in March from a year earlier, a state-affiliated industry group reported Friday.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said sales rose to 1.26 million vehicles, a 63 per cent increase from March 2009.
It said manufacturers have scrambled to meet strong demand driven by tax cuts and government subsidies.
China was the world's largest auto market last year, thanks to weak sales in the United States and a surge in car purchases by newly affluent Chinese buyers.
Total vehicle sales in 2009 jumped 45 per cent over 2008 to 13.6 million units.
The Chinese industry group said total vehicle sales rose 56 per cent in March from a year earlier to 1.7 million units, bringing sales for the first three months of the year to 4.6 million.
"We are confident that China's vehicle sales will surpass 17 million units this year, growing by about 25 per cent," said Rao Da, general secretary of the Shanghai-based China Passenger Car Association.
China's growth has also helped foreign automakers such as General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. As well, GM reported earlier that its sales in China jumped 68 per cent in March from a year earlier to a new monthly record of 230,048 vehicles. First quarter sales surged 71 per cent to 623,546 units.
Ford Motor Co. said first quarter sales jumped 84 per cent to a record 153,362 units.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s sales in China rose 33 per cent in March from a year earlier to 61,200 units, lagging the market and its rivals but still growing despite its massive recall problems in other markets.
Chinese automakers slowed production in late 2008 and early 2009 as global economic woes dragged sales sharply lower.
With files from The Associated Press