Auto sector maintains growth trend
By Gong Zhengzheng (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-05-19 08:42

Although China's automobile output and sales registered a slight month-on-month fall in April, the sector has maintained a steady growth trend, according to an industry organization.

April's output was 531,700 vehicles, a decrease of 6.28 per cent compared to March, said statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

China-made vehicles' sales dropped by 8.24 per cent month-on-month to 497,900 units in April.

But last month's output and sales jumped by 34.29 per cent and 28.32 per cent on a year-on-year basis, according to the association's statistics.

Association spokeswoman Zhu Yiping told China Daily that last month's figures were nothing more than a "normal decline from record highs in March."

March's automobile output grew rapidly by 31.17 per cent month-on-month to 567,400 units and sales of China-made automobiles also shot up by 25.62 per cent to 542,600 units in March.

Total output during the first four months of this year reached 1,831,400 automobiles, an increase of 27.74 per cent compared to the same period in 2003, statistics showed.

Sales of China-made vehicles grew by 28.62 per cent year-on-year to 1,775,700 units in the period from January to April this year.

The spokeswoman pointed out that passenger cars remained total automobile output and sales' biggest growth engine during this period.

Passenger car output in China was 820,200 units during the period, a year-on-year jump of 42.60 per cent, according to the statistics.

Sales of domestically made passenger cars climbed by 42.82 per cent year-on-year to 787,200 units from January to April this year.

The output and sales of trucks stood at 554,100 and 531,800 units during the period, up 19.19 per cent and 25.97 per cent.

Bus output and sales rose by 16.13 per cent and 12.14 per cent year-on-year to 457,100 units and 456,700 units during the period.

"Both automobile output and sales will grow rapidly during the second quarter of this year compared to the first as a result of manufacturers' new product launches and price cuts," Zhu said.

Output and sales will reach 1.55 million vehicles in the second quarter, up from almost 1.30 million and 1.28 million units in the first quarter, predicted the association's spokeswoman.

Her prediction was echoed by China National Automotive Industry Consulting and Development Corp chief analyst Jia Xinguang, who said: "Total passenger car output this year will increase by some 50 per cent from 2.01 million units last year."