Car Sales Up by 24% in First Three Quarters

Passenger vehicle sales in China rose by almost 24 percent in the first three quarters, mainly driven by strong demand for sedans, an industry association said yesterday.

January-September sales of domestically made passenger vehicles - sedans, multipurpose vehicles (MPVs), sports-utility vehicles (SUVs) and microvans - reached 4.58 million units, up 23.84 percent from a year ago, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Meanwhile, sedan sales shot up by 25.76 percent to 3.44 million units.

In the sedan segment, Volkswagen AG's joint venture with China's FAW Corp held the top spot by moving 343,298 units, followed by the German carmaker's other tie-up with SAIC Motor Co, and a partnership between General Motors and SAIC.

Volkswagen's Jetta compact sedan was the best-selling model with sales hitting 154,017, although it is one of the oldest cars in production in China.

The German carmaker's Santana mid-sized sedan and General Motor's Buick Excelle compact were ranked No 2 and No 3 respectively.

Sales of the top 10 sedan models stood at 1.12 million units in the first three quarters, or 33 percent of the segment.

Sales of indigenous brands in China, led by Chery and Geely, reached 940,300 units in the period, making up 27 percent of the segment.

MPV sales, led by the Odyssey from Honda Motor Co, amounted to 165,300 units from January to September, up 20.75 percent. Sales of SUVs surged by 51.72 percent to 251,700 units with the Hover from China's Great Wall Motor Co ranking No 1.

In September alone, overall sales of passenger vehicles reached 561,000 units, up 22.42 percent from the corresponding period of last year.

Sedan sales in the month increased by 22.48 percent to 425,900 units.

In this period, the Buick Excelle was the best-selling model, trailed by the Jetta and Toyota's Camry mid-sized sedan.