China Roars Past U.S. to Become No. 1 Auto Market

Posted on Jan 8, 2010

AP

Rows of cars, many of them produced by foreign manufacturers in China, sit ready for sale at a Beijing car market in 2006.

With the U.S. economic slump and the seemingly never-ending boom in Chinese manufacturing, it comes as no surprise that China has become the world’s biggest car market, with 13.5 million vehicles sold in 2009—or 2.1 million more than the U.S. —JCL

The Guardian:

China has overtaken the US to become the biggest car market in the world as government policy initiatives spur demand.

China sold more than 13.5m vehicles last year, the official Xinhua news agency said today, compared with 10.4m cars and light trucks sold in the US, the lowest level in 27 years.

The Chinese tally includes heavy vehicles but is still higher than that of the US after roughly 650,000 units of heavy trucks are deducted, according to Orient Securities, the Chinese brokerage.

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