Thursday September 17, 2009

China car sales jump 71% in Jul 2009, to surpass US as largest auto market

bloomberg.com :

Automakers and investors are focusing on China as it withstands the global recession. Chinese sales of cars, sport-utility vehicles and other passenger vehicles jumped 71% in July 2009. China's vehicle sales may rise 28% this year, likely enough for the country to surpass the US as the world's largest auto market.

China's full-year car sales may reach as high as 12 million vehicles. Meanwhile, US sales have slumped 28%, pushing GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy. US sales will likely be around 10.5 million, according to General Motors and Ford. In the US, the government's "cash for clunkers" rebates helped cause a 1% increase in auto sales last month, the first gain since 2007.

- There seems to be some kind of odd symmetry at work here. China car sales are set to go up 28% for the year while at the same time US car sales slump 28%. The big surprise is the jump in China's July 2009 vehicle sales figures which have surged an astonishing 71%, dwarfing India's own 26% rise which is already pretty significant in its own right.

Now it remains to be seen how much of it is due to the governments of the respective Asian countries pumping money into the system, and how much of it is actually due to the rise of the proverbial Asian consumer. It all kind of reminds me of the endless arguments over whether crude oil prices are driven by speculators and traders, or by actual demand and supply.

See also :

1. Small cars staging big comeback
2. China welcomes small cars back to its streets
3. NYMEX crude oil recovers from $32.40 low after 2.2 mbpd OPEC production cut announced
4. China car sales jump beyond imagination with 2-month wait

(2009-09-17 19:08:49 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

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