China auto sales up 5.2pc in April
SHANGHAI, May 10 — Vehicle sales in China rose 5.2 per cent year on year in April, an industry group said yesterday, indicating a recovery in the world’s biggest auto market.
File photo of the recent Auto China 2012 show in Beijing where manufacturers displayed numerous new car models. — AFP picTotal vehicle sales for the month stood at 1.62 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement. The growth rate improved from a 1.0 per cent rise in March.
But sales for the first four months of the year dropped 1.3 per cent to 6.42 million units, the group said, though the decline slowed from a 3.4 per cent slump for the first quarter.
China’s auto sales have slowed after the government rolled back incentives and some cities imposed tough restrictions on car numbers to ease chronic traffic congestion and pollution.
Last year, vehicle sales rose just 2.5 per cent to 18.51 million units in 2011, compared with an increase of more than 32 per cent in 2010.
Yao Jie, deputy head of the association, yesterday described the overall auto market as sound but urged the government to promote sales and help domestic car makers receive financing, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Foreign car makers in China have fared better despite the slowdown, helped by name recognition and perceptions of higher quality, analysts say.
US auto giant General Motors said on Monday that it saw record sales in China in April, with an 11.7 per cent surge to 227,217 vehicles. — AFP-Relaxnews
