The Chinese market for passenger automobiles made a strong recovery in May, with total reported sales reaching 1.27 million units, Caijing reported today. The result is 22 percent higher than last May's sales figure.
A total of 1.26 million vehicles were manufactured in the month, also 22 percent more than last May. The SUV market remained the quickest growing, with total sales exceeding 160,000 vehicles. Sedan and microvans sales totaled 890,000 and 180,000 units. Their respective year-on-year growth rates were 19 percent and 18 percent.
"The large year-on-year growth in the passenger automobile sales has led us to safely conclude the market is recovering," China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) General Secretary Rao Da said. At a recently held summit hosted by the CPCA and Sinotrust, Mr. Rao stated that, as long as no serious disasters occur, the automobile market will grow even quicker in the third quarter.
However, Mr. Rao cautioned that the market's expected value has fallen short of manufacturers' predictions, which is why inventories are now at record levels. Although reported sales exceeded 1.2 million units, end-user sales totaled 1.18 million units, signifying that 90,000 vehicles were still in inventory.
The CPCA predicts sales to decrease in June due to its relatively small number of working days. However, the CPCA emphasizes that this should not affect the overall recovery trend in the automobile market, with year-on-year growth numbers this month expected to remain high.
