According to statistics of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, sales of domestically made vehicles increased by 35.6 percent year-on-year to 2.67 million units during the first 10 months of this year.

Sales of passenger cars stood at 908,000 units during the period - an increase of 51.7 percent on a year earlier.

Better-than-expected growth has made government officials, analysts and company executives more optimistic about the prospects of the Chinese automobile market.

Zhang Guobao, vice-minister of the State Development Planning Commission, forecast that domestic automobile demand will increase to 6 million units a year by 2005 from the expected 3.2 million units this year.

Jiang Xiaojuan, an industrial expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the Chinese automobile market will increase to 10 million units annually by 2010.

The market will become the world's largest by 2019 with a total demand of 30 million units a year, according to Jiang.

Cheng Meiwei, president of Ford Motor Co's China operation, said: "If Asia-Pacific is the basis of growth potential in the (auto) industry, and I believe it is. Then China will definitely be the fountain of vitality."

China will stand for half of the growth volume of more than 7 million vehicles in the Asian-Pacific region by 2011, said Cheng.

Ford is now operating two vehicle joint ventures in China with two local partners.

Encouraged by the robust growth of the market and its business in China, Volkswagen Group has revealed a new ambitious sales and investment plan in China for the coming years.

Robert Buchelhofer, head of the German auto giant's Asian-Pacific operation, announced last week in Beijing that the company will double its sales in China to 1 million units by 2007.

"The Group plans to invest almost 600 million euros (US$599 million) annually to 2007 in new products, new production, research and development capability and modern technology in China," Buchelhofer said.

Volkswagen, which has two car joint ventures in China, will deliver some 500,000 vehicles in China this year, up from 359,000 units last year.

Analysts from the State Information Center predicted that China's vehicle imports will increase to about 170,000 units from 120,000 this year thanks to further tariff cuts and the nation's offer of more import quotas next year.

(China Daily December 11, 2002)