Chinese car sales totaled 712,200 (excluding imports) in the first two months of the year, up 33 percent over the same period in 2006, sources with the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Monday.

 

The top 10 sellers were Santana, Buick Excelle, Jetta, Charade (Xiali), Camry, Hundai Elantra, Family, QQ, Accord and Passat Lingyu.

 

The leading 10 carmakers in terms of sales for the Jan.-Feb. period were Shanghai GM, Shanghai VW, FAW VW, Chery, Beijing Hundai, Geely, Guangzhou Honda, Tianjin FAW, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen and Dongfeng Nissan.

 

Due to the weeklong Chinese Lunar New Year holiday and the fact that February is the shortest month, motor vehicle sales in the 28-day period were down on the January figures, despite a year-on-year growth, according to the sources.

 

Nationwide, 297,800 cars were sold in February, up 25.86 percent compared with figures a year earlier, but down 28.16 percent from the previous month. The sales of multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) totaled 13,700, up 14.7 percent year-on-year; and that of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) came to 19,200, up 32.7 percent year-on-year.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 12, 2007)