Half-year sales for sport utilities vehicles in China rose 39 percent from a year earlier, outpacing the growth for the whole industry.

And models with smaller engines led the field amid high gasoline prices.

Chinese auto makers sold 158,000 SUVs for the first six months, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers Tuesday. The total vehicle market rose 23 percent to 4.37 million units.

For models with an engine capacity between 1.6 liters and two liters, sales of two-wheel-drive SUVs rose 83.4 percent and four-wheel-drives were up 78 percent, compared with the first half last year.

This compared with a 25 percent increase for SUVs powered by engines bigger than two liters.

"Small-engine SUVs are more favored by Chinese consumers for daily use," said Zhang Xin, an auto analyst from Guotai Jun'an Securities Co Ltd.

"The high gasoline price also prompted them to choose fuel-efficient models to cut costs."

In March last year, China raised the tax on vehicles with an engine capacity larger than two liters from five to 20 percent and gave preferential rates on small cars to save energy and curb pollution.

China's SUV market is still expanding because most buyers are first-timers more interested in fuel efficiency and car design than off-road functions.

The five best-selling SUVs in the first half were Hover made by Great Wall, Tiggo from Chery Automobile Co Ltd, Tucson made by Beijing Hyundai, Honda CRV and Liebao.

(Shanghai Daily July 27 2007)