Vehicle sales still driving fast

Shanghai-based industry research firm IHS Automotive predicted that the passenger vehicle category, including cars, SUVs and MPVs, is expected to grow by 13.5 percent from a year earlier to around 15.4 million units this year while commercial vehicles are expected to rise just 3 percent to 5.1 million.

The forecast is far higher than the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers' prediction of 7 percent and the China Passenger Car Association's 5 percent made at the beginning of the year.

"SUVs will continue to be the major thrust within the passenger vehicle segment with double-digit annual growth," said Namrita Chow, a manager and senior analyst with IHS Automotive.

General Motors Co, the largest foreign automaker in China by sales, said this week that it and its joint ventures sold 282,446 vehicles in China last month, setting a new October record.

Sales were up 12.2 percent on an annual basis as domestic sales by its joint ventures Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling as well as its major brands reached new highs for the month.

Shanghai GM sold 132,954 vehicles in China during October, a year-on-year increase of 13 percent. SAIC-GM-Wuling's domestic sales rose 10.7 percent to 143,693 units. FAW-GM sold 5,407 vehicles in the domestic market, a jump of 27 percent.

Another US automaker, Ford Motor Co, also reported robust sales growth in October, with its sales surging 55 percent year-on-year to 93,969 units last month, while its January-October sales saw an annual growth of 52 percent.