Chinese retail automobile sales maintain 23.5% annual growth from 2003 to 2011

Retail sales of automobiles in China have grown 23.5 percent annually from 2003 to 2011, Caijing reported today. The figure comes from the fifth report in the National Bureau of Statistics' study series on economic development in the country.

According to the report, the average vehicle ownership per hundred households has risen from 0.9 vehicles in the end of 2002 to 18.6 in the end of 2011.

The study also observed other trends regarding consumption in China. In particular, the study noted that sales rates of household appliances and furniture have grown rapidly. Furthermore, sales for luxury items and services, such as cosmetics, jewelry, electronic goods and entertainment products, have managed to maintained growth rates of over ten percent annually. The average numbers of computers and mobile phones per every hundred households have grown from 206,000 units to 819,000 units, and from 629,000 units to 2.05 million units, respectively.