Global auto sales grow significantly in Q1

Apr. 10, 2008 (China Knowledge) - In the first quarter this year, nearly all the global auto makers saw their sales grow in China, the world's fastest growing vehicle market, far surpassed the industry average.

The passenger car sales were up 20.4% to 1.85 million units in the first quarter. For March alone, the growth rate was 24%, the biggest monthly rise since August.

Ford Motor Co., the U.S. auto maker, saw its combined sales in China, including the Ford, Volvo, Mazda, Jaguar and Land Rover brands, jumped as much as 47% in the period to 90,791 vehicles. The sound growth was boosted by its venture with Changan Automotive Group<000625><200625> and Mazda Motor Corp.

Sales of Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest auto maker, surged 32.5% to 268,200 vehicles, and FAW Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen, the two Chinese ventures ranked the first and second place in domestic sales.

German premium car maker BMW AG, who has the brands of BMW and Mini, reported a 43.2% growth rate to 14,574 units. In the period, the foreign brands took 74.2% of the Chinese market share, in which Japanese brands took 29%, German brands of 21.3% and American brands of 13%.