China's Car Market Back To Its Crazy Self: 55.7 Percent Up

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Don’t take it as gospel. The China Automotive Technology and Research Center is known for its early, but not always its most precise numbers, although their precision has improved lately. If they have their act halfway together, then a new revolution is underway in China. According to the CATRC’s numbers, August sales in China rose 55.7 percent over a year earlier to 1.21 million vehicles. This is absoNSFWingly mindblowing, because in August 2009, sales had been up 95 percent.

Last July, total vehicle sales had only been up 14.4 percent. The CATRC usually counts passenger vehicles only, that number had been up 13.6 percent in July, prompting many to announce that the party is over in the Middle Kingdom.

According to Gasgoo, sales of energy saving vehicles rose 32 percent to 129,600. Imports are also selling very well, especially European imports, due to the low Euro and the slightly stronger Yuan. That currency advantage is eliminated by price-gouging dealers who get you in front on month long waiting list for a not so slight extra charge.

In the first eight months of the year, China produced nearly 11m vehicles. End-of-the-year projections point to sales in excess of 16m.


Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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