Chinese automobile sales in 2012 may reach 20m units, CAAM predicts

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers predicts that Chinese automobile sales for this year may top 20 million units, Xinhua reported today. The CAAM announced the prediction in a recent market analysis report.

According to its estimations, total passenger automobile sales this year may be around 16.09 million units, growing 11.1 percent from 2011. Among individual segments, sedan sales are expected to recover, with around 11.18 million units sold. SUV, minivan and crossover sale predictions are expected to total 2.07 million units, 560,000 units and 2.28 million units, respectively.

Meanwhile, commercial vehicle sales are expected to reach 3.91 million units, three percent less than the amount sold last year. Among them, bus sales are predicted to increase, while sales of trucks would continue to fall.

The CAAM predicts automobile imports to China this year to reach 1.2 million units, while Chinese exports are expected to total 1.05 million units. The figures represent year-on-year growth of 24 percent, respectively.

According to Deputy Secretary General Shi Jianhua, the CAAM's predictions take into account a number of different factors, including the macroeconomic state of the country, increased automobile spending among rural citizens, the renewal of economic stimulatory policies as well as the introduction of restrictions aimed at limiting vehicle purchases. "If the economy continues to maintain its current [growth], and as long as there are no large scale policies limiting automobile purchases, automobile sales growth could reach five percent this year," Mr. Shi stated.