February sales of passenger cars in China slightly down

China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said that the number of passenger cars sold in China during the month of February rose by 22.3% year-on-year (y/y) to 1.94 million units, but year-to-date (YTD) sales are down by 1.4% year-on-year. Included in the passenger car category are sedans, sport utility vehicles (SUV), multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) and mini-vans. “The 21 working days that fell in February supported an increase in production and sales,” said Rao Da, secretary-general of CPCA. He predicted that the sales figure for March will show a decline as well if gasoline prices continue to rise. “China’s vehicle sales won’t go back to skyrocketing as they did in 2009 and 2010 and as the country’s economy continues to make a soft landing,” he added. He predicts that 19.8 million vehicles will be sold in 2012, an increase of 7% from 2011. He said that 15.55 million of those could be passenger vehicles. (March 9, 2012)