Car makers General Motors (GM) and Ford said on Tuesday their sales in China grew steadily during thefirst half of 2008, a stimulus for the companies that have seen demand slump in their home market.

GM, the largest U.S. automaker, said it sold 590,126 vehicles in China in the first six months, up 12.7 percent year-on-year.

Kevin E. Wale, president of GM China, said the company's multi-brand strategy was taking effect. New models of brands such as Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and Wuling all received positive feedback from Chinese consumers.

Ford said its sales rose 21 percent to 172,411 units, of which sales of passenger cars produced by Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co. Ltd., a joint venture of Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. Ltd.,Ford Motor Company and Mazda Motor Company, rose 25 percent to 116,903 units.

Wale said the industry should put priority on developing more energy-efficient, environment-friendly vehicles. Under the pressure of rising oil prices, GM's new growth point would be developing vehicles with new energy-saving technologies, includinghybrid technology. U.S. auto sales plunged in June to a 15-year low, but a month-end clearance sale helped GM retain its No.1 spot.

In effort to cushion the impact of record gas prices and sagging home sales, foreign auto makers are competing aggressivelyin China, where sales are expanding at double-digit rates and major U.S., European and Asian producers have set up factories.

Also Tuesday, Japan's Honda Motor (China) Investment Co. Ltd. said its sales in China rose 21.3 percent year-on-year to 186,991 vehicles during the first half of 2008.

The growth rate exceeded that in its home market and other overseas markets. In the first six months, Honda's sales shrank inJapan and grew merely 4.1 percent in the United States -- its biggest overseas market.

Despite the mounting production cost and rising oil prices, theChinese auto market would continue booming, Zhu Linjie, an official with the Honda China company, told Xinhua by phone.

He added Honda was expecting 20 percent annual sales growth this year in China -- its fastest growing market worldwide.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2008)