China’s passenger car sales rise 15% in June

China’s passenger car sales witnessed a month-on-month growth in June, bringing the consecutive drop in April and May to an end. Sales rose 4.19% in June compared to the previous month and 15.23% compared to the same month a year ago. The increase was attributed partly to a spate of passenger car purchases following sluggish demand in May when a powerful earthquake devastated the southwestern province of Sichuan. In the first half of 2008, China’s passenger car sales amounted to 3.609 million units, signifying a year-on-year growth of 17.07%, compared with 22.26% a year ago. The ten best-selling homegrown sedan trademarks were QQ, Xiali, F3, Family, Free Cruiser, Flagcloud, KingKong, A520, Vitz and Junjie. (July 15, 2008)