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China churns out 89 new auto models in 1st half year

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-02 14:42

Chinese manufacturers rolled out a record 89 new auto models in the first half of this year amid the industry boom, said an official with the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) Tuesday.

"Eighty nine models in six months, that is to say one model for every two days, which is unprecedented," said Zhu Yiping, the assistant of CAAM's secretary general.

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More than 40 models are domestic brands. There are 73 sedans, nine sports utility vehicles (SUV), six multi-purpose vehicles (MPV), and one commercial vehicle, Zhu said.

Sales of China's domestically-made automobiles topped 4.96 million units in the January-May period, up 14.29 percent from a year earlier, thanks to the government stimulus measures, according to the CAAM data.

Both output and sales of domestically-made automobiles in May exceeded 1.10 million units. It was the third month in a row that topped the 1 million unit mark.

The world's largest auto market is expected to sell 10.2 million vehicles in 2009, up 8.7 percent year-on-year.

Zhu said domestic makers will unveil more than 50 new models in the latter half of this year.