The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said that automobile sales were 1,607,200 units in May, a decrease -1% compared with April, but an increase 16% compared with the same period of last year. Western economist are worried that the Chinese economy is slowing down, which could have negative implications for western automakers operating there.
Among the main automobile categories, passenger car sales were 1,281,900 units, an increase of 0.46% compared with last month, and up 22.56% year-on-year. Sales of commercial vehicles increased to 325,300 units, lower than the previous 6.63%, and down -4.3% y-o-y.
General Motors, the world’s largest automaker, and its joint ventures sold a May record of 231,183 vehicles in China. Demand was up for the Chinese market leader 21.3% from the same month in 2011 and 1.7% from April of this year, clearly outpacing the Chinese market.
At Ford China, increased sales of passenger cars partially offset a slump in light commercial vehicles during May, which led to an 8% increase year-over-year at 48,608, vehicles. BMW sold 27,815 vehicles, an increase of 31.5% over the same month last year
From January to May, Chinese auto sales exceeded 8,023,500 units, an increase of only 1.7% percent from a year earlier. Passenger car sales increase 5.5% y-o-y to about 6,330,000 units; commercial vehicle sales exceeded 1,693,500 units, a decrease of -10.31% from a year earlier.
