#Sales2010

If you want to get ahead in the car business, this is required reading. If you just like cars and don’t give a hoot about who makes them where and why, then you may skip this.

A few days ago, we mentioned that Volkswagen might have something to say about GM’s press release which claimed that in 2010, “Shanghai GM became China’s first passenger car maker to sell 1 million vehicles annually.”

Today, Volkswagen said something, without even mentioning GM.

GM China’s 2010 sales numbers did not disappoint. They expected more than 2.3 million cars for 2010 sold in the Middle Kingdom, they got more than 2.3 million. 2,351,610 units, to be exact, up 28.8 percent compared to a very strong 2009. to a record in 2010. GM is the first global automaker to sell more than 2 million vehicles in China in a single year. And here is the breakdown:

The year is slowly coming to an end. Only one month to go. China’s industry association CAAM is no doubt looking at early reports of the November sales (official numbers will be released in a week or so.) That look emboldened the CAAM to come to a semi-official prediction: “China is expected to record auto sales volume of more than 17 million units this year” said the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), according to Gasgoo.

People have accused me of irrational exuberance (or worse) when I mentioned that the Chinese auto market could be 17 million or thereabouts this year. Impending bubbles were predicted. Popping bubbles were (erroneously) reported. Gordon Chang, guest of Glenn Beck whenever Beck needs an Asian that says something nasty about China, even offered the theory that the Chinese government secretly buys most of the cars and hides them somewhere. (For 17 million, the Gobi desert would come in handy, but then there’s Google maps.) I stuck by my prediction of 17m or thereabouts.

Well, it turns out I was wrong after all.