Official data released yesterday (6th November) confirmed that passenger car sales in China grew on a year-on-year basis during October, reversing two months of declines.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers revealed that a total of 538,500 units were sold over the course of the month, representing an 8.37 per cent increase from the equivalent period in 2007.

However, the upturn - which follows drops of 6.24 per cent and 1.44 per cent in August and September respectively - is being treated with caution by some analysts of the world's fastest-growing automarket.

For instance, Chen Qiaoning from ABN AMRO TEDA Fund Management said: "That is by no means a sign of market recovery. Eight per cent is nothing compared to explosive growth in the past years."

The slumps in August and September were largely attributed to a combination of natural disasters, the Olympic Games in Beijing and the downturn currently gripping the global economy.

The association also confirmed that there were a total of 5.64 million car sales in China between January and October - a figure which is 11.07 per cent higher than 12 months ago.

Source:

RPT-UPDATE 1-China's Oct car sales rise 8.37 pct on yr - data (06/11/08)

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