China's Car Production In January Soars 120 Percent - Brief Article

Autoparts Report, March 4, 2003

China auto production soared 120 percent in January to 126,800 cars, a jump of 120 percent from a year earlier, the government said.

Car output at Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), which claimed the title of China's top vehicle maker in 2002, soared 130 percent in January to 44,400, breaking the 40,000 mark for the first time, the State Statistical Bureau said. SAIC also produced more than 10,000 mid- to high-end Passat sedans in January at a joint venture with partner Volkswagen AG, the bureau said.

The output of Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. Ltd. rose 260 percent in January and that of Tianjin Automotive Industry Corp. was up 100 percent, the statistics bureau said.

China is the world's fastest growing major vehicle market and its automakers -- including foreign joint ventures -- sold 3.248 million vehicles in 2002, a jump of 37.1 percent from 2001, according to official statistics. The country's vehicle makers are expected to produce 3.6 million vehicles in 2003, 1.3 million of them cars, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

SAIC sold 610,000 vehicles in 2002, double the year before, and overtook all other rivals to become China's largest vehicle maker by sales. By comparison, top rival Dongfeng Motor Corp. produced 418,400 vehicles in 2002, up 54.74 percent year-on-year. Sales volumes rose 53 percent to 415,700 vehicles, the company said.

China's auto industry is crowded with about 110 manufacturers, but only 12 have an annual capacity of more than 50,000 vehicles. The government has called for the consolidation of the sector.