Report: China Auto Output Up 52 Percent

SHANGHAI, China (AP) — China’s passenger car production rose 52 percent in January from a year earlier to 391,600 units, while sales surged 73 percent to 418,900 units, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday. 

The report said that January car output was down 4 percent from December, with sales down 8 percent, citing data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The report did not give comparative figures.

January auto sales and output usually are lower than those for December, when automakers tend to rush to meet their full-year targets. January also had fewer working days this year because the lunar New Year holiday, when companies close for a week, started Jan. 29.

China’s total vehicle production — including commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses — in January rose 28 percent from a year earlier to 521,600 units, while sales were up 45 percent to 530,100 units.

AP