China’s passenger car sales see revival
Chinese Automobile Manufacturers Association disclosed that the country's passenger car sales, including sedans, multiple-purpose vehicles and sport-utility vehicles, rose 24% year on year to 249'624 units in May 2005. Turned off by a slumping Chinese stock market and a softening in the property market, consumers opted to spend their money on cars instead, thus boosting May's numbers. Even though sedan output fell 1.8% from a year earlier to 990'819 units during January-May 2005 period, China's major automakers sold 1.04 million sedans in the first five months of 2005, up 9.8% year on year.