SHANGHAI, May 09 (AP/UNB) — Vehicle sales in China, the world's largest auto market, rose in April but are down for the year amid tighter credit and slower economic growth.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Wednesday that April's total sales rose 5 percent from a year earlier to 1.62 million vehicles. Sales for January-April, at 6.4 million vehicles, were down 1.3 percent.
The increase in April reflected that sales a year earlier were low due to auto production disruptions in the wake of March 11 tsunami and earthquake in Japan.
Auto sales growth in China has slowed from 35 percent in 2010 to just 2 percent in the first quarter of this year, as local governments imposed traffic curbs, credit policies were tightened and economic growth cooled.
Foreign and luxury brands have fared relatively well, though. General Motors Co. reported sales of GM and joint venture vehicles in China surged 11.7 percent in April from a year earlier, to a record 227,217 vehicles.
GM's sales have risen 9.4 percent this year, to 972,369 vehicles.
Ford Motor Co. says its April sales in China jumped 24 percent over a year earlier, to 54,881 vehicles.
At the recent Beijing Auto Show, Ford premiered its three-cylinder EcoSport mini-SUV and other new models as part of an expansion intended to double production capacity in China as it strives to catch up with rivals.
Aiming to tap the fastest growing segments of the market, automakers are rolling out luxury models for newly rich urban Chinese and economy models for the low-income rural dwellers who are just buying their first cars.
