China 2010 car sales up 33.2%: Official data

Automakers in China shipped a record 13.8 mn passenger cars to dealers in 2010, up 33.2% from a year earlier, the official China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Monday.

In December alone, car sales jumped 18.6% to 1.3 mn units as people rushed to showrooms to take advantage of Beijing's stimulus measures, including tax incentives for small cars, that expired at the end of last year. As a consequence of that, industry analysts expect that monthly sales may fall in the first few months of this year, because small cars account for 60% of the sales volume. The latest market decline occurred in the second half of 2008 in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. For the full year, the market is expected to grow 10-15% for the full year due to low per capital car ownership in small, inland areas, they added. China's Monthly year-on-year car sales growth since April 2010 Dec Nov Oct Sept Aug July June May Apr 18.6 29.3 27.1 19.3 18.7% 13.6% 19.4% 25.8% 33.2%