China monthly auto sales overtake US for 1st time
source: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D968TS3G0&show_article=1
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SHANGHAI (AP) - China's monthly vehicle sales surpassed those in the United States for the first time in January, moving this country closer to becoming the world's biggest auto market, data released Tuesday showed.
With its growing middle class and vast potential as a consumer market, China is vital for General Motors Corp., Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp. as they count on demand here to offset weakness in the U.S. and elsewhere.
But China's ascent in the global auto market has been hastened by the plunge in U.S. auto sales, which tumbled 37 percent in January to a 26-year low of 656,976 units.
Chinese vehicle sales also have cooled, but hardly as dramatically. In January, 735,000 vehicles were sold, down 14.4 percent from a monthly record 860,000 in January 2008, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said.
China's vehicle market has grown dramatically in recent years, overtaking Japan in 2006 to become the world's second-largest by annual sales. With 1.3 billion people, China will inevitably leapfrog the U.S., with a population of 300 million, into the No. 1 spot, industry experts say.
With its growing middle class and vast potential as a consumer market, China is vital for General Motors Corp., Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp. as they count on demand here to offset weakness in the U.S. and elsewhere.
But China's ascent in the global auto market has been hastened by the plunge in U.S. auto sales, which tumbled 37 percent in January to a 26-year low of 656,976 units.
Chinese vehicle sales also have cooled, but hardly as dramatically. In January, 735,000 vehicles were sold, down 14.4 percent from a monthly record 860,000 in January 2008, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said.
China's vehicle market has grown dramatically in recent years, overtaking Japan in 2006 to become the world's second-largest by annual sales. With 1.3 billion people, China will inevitably leapfrog the U.S., with a population of 300 million, into the No. 1 spot, industry experts say.
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