China auto sales up nearly 50 per cent

BEIJING - China car sales in the first half of 2006 climbed almost 50 per cent year on year, with General Motors staying out front, Xinhua news agency said overnight.

China saw sales of 1.804 million cars in the domestic market in the first half, up 46.9 per cent year-on-year, Xinhua said, quoting the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

GM, the world's largest auto maker, consolidated its position as China's top vehicle seller in the half as booming demand helped the market post healthy gains all around.

GM, which overtook Germany's Volkswagen AG last year to become China's biggest vehicle seller, sold 453,832 units in the six months ended June, up 47 per cent from a year earlier, the company said last week.

The strong industry-wide gains come on the heels of 21.4 per cent growth in car sales for China last year, and just 15 per cent growth in 2004 as Beijing took steps to rein in credit and cool the nation's racing economy.

- REUTERS