China August auto sales up 8.26% on year

Vehicle sales in China, the world's largest auto market, rose more than eight percent year-on-year in August, following a similar rise in July, an industry group said Monday. Sales of all types of vehicles rose 8.26 percent from the same month last year to around 1.50 million units in August, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement. In July, Chinese auto sales rose 8.20 percent on-year. China's auto sales slowed last year from 2010 after the government rolled back buying incentives and some cities imposed tough restrictions on car numbers to ease chronic traffic congestion and pollution. In 2011, China's vehicle sales rose just 2.5 percent to 18.51 million units, compared with an annual increase of more than 32 percent in 2010. In the first eight months of this year, vehicle sales rose 4.10 percent to 12.47 million, according to figures released Monday. China's slowing economy and more cities slapping limits on car numbers has raised worries over the auto market. In July, the southern city of Guangzhou set rules to limit the number of cars through a quota on the number of number plates the government made available, following similar moves in Beijing and Shanghai. But some foreign car makers have fared better in China than domestic brands. US auto giant General Motors sold more than 1.8 million units in China in the first eight months of this year, up 11.2 percent year-on-year. Analysts say foreign car makers have better brand recognition and perceptions of higher quality.