Chinese automakers sold 414,500 cars in January, down 2.05 percent from the previous month but up 39.05 percent from the same month last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

 

Chinese indigenous brands accounted for 30.57 percent of the sales with 126,700 units sold last month. Japanese brands ranked the second with a market share of 25.90 percent, while German and US brands followed with a combined share of over 30 percent.

 

More than 100 new sedan models hit the country's market last year, including 36 homegrown brands.

 

Santana, Excelle, Xiali and Jetta were among the top ten best-selling made-in-China sedans in January.

 

Zhang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the China Machinery Industry Federation, predicted strong demand will continue to drive sedan sales up. He said homegrown brands must strengthen research and development, improve after-sales service and develop more energy-efficient models.

 

He urged the auto industry to export more homegrown brands.

 

The country's auto export is still dominated by low-end models. The average price of cars exported by China is US$10,000 per unit, only a third of that of imported models, said Zhang.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2007)