2007-4-10

Chinese car-maker Chery sold 44,568 vehicles in March to become the first domestic brand to top monthly vehicle sales since 1987, overtaking the likes of GM and Volkswagen.

It was also the first month in which the company that develops and produces cars with home-grown brands, sold more than 40,000 cars.

Second on the list was Sino-US joint venture Shanghai GM, which recorded monthly sales of 40,071 vehicles.

Two Sino-German joint ventures -- Shanghai Volkswagen and Faw Volkswagen -- followed, with sales of 38,627 and 37,016 respectively.

The four best sellers held 33 per cent of China's car market in March, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a scramble for market share with Chery, Faw Volkswagen and Shanghai GM slashed prices around the spring festival holidays, analysts said.

Chery sold 37,207 vehicles in January, second only to the 40,570 sold by Shanghai GM, when the company achieved the second highest monthly car sales in China for the first time.

It became China's seventh largest automaker and fourth largest producer of sedans in 2006, with sales of 305,200 vehicles, including 272,400 sedan cars.

Encouraged by last year's exports of 50,000 vehicles, the company plans to double its exports this year.

China's automobile industry made record profit of nearly USD 10 billion last year over 2005, milking on the world's second largest auto market's surging demands.

Chinese auto industry made 76.8 billion yuan (approximately USD 10 billion) in 2006, up 46 per cent from the previous year, figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said.

A report by the CAAM said in 2006 China's auto industry sold 7.22 million auto vehicles, increasing 25 per cent over 2005, and the country overtook Japan for the first time to become the world's second largest auto market.

China's automakers last year produced 7.28 million vehicles, 27.32 per cent up over the previous year, making the country the third largest auto producer in the world.

The report predicted that in 2007 China's auto market demand will reach eight million.

However, auto dealers did not have a good time in 2006, with up to 40 per cent of them suffering heavy losses.

Statistics show that of the 1,800 franchised auto dealers nationwide, about 700 were in the red, of which 300 have been merged or edged out of the market.

China has about 1,500 registered auto producers, of which fewer than 100 sold more than 10,000 vehicles last year. Many small manufacturers sold only 300 to 500 vehicles.