Passenger car sales back in fast lane in April

The nation's passenger vehicle sales increased 12.7 percent year-on-year in April, recovering to double-digit growth after gains of 9.4 percent in February and 9 percent in March.

It was also the 14th consecutive month of strong year-on-year expansion.

Nationwide, 1,511,095 cars, sport utility vehicles, multipurpose vehicles and minivans were sold in April, the China Passenger Car Association announced on Friday.

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Sales for the first four months were up 10.4 percent year-on-year, maintaining the growth momentum in the world's largest vehicle market.

"The just-concluded Beijing auto show, which saw hundreds of new model launches, helped offset weak sales in the first week of April during the three-day Tomb Sweeping Day holidays," said Rao Da, secretary-general of the CPCA.

However, he noted that dealers are under pressure from fast-increasing inventories as vehicle producers ship out cars in anticipation of further sales growth.

And he said that domestic brands are still losing share in China and abroad.

"As more cities will definitely launch policies limiting vehicle numbers in light of traffic jams and environmental considerations, 'panic buying' will help support market growth," said Rao. "We expect another high monthly growth rate in May."

United States-based General Motors Co said on Tuesday that its sales in China last month were up 6.3 percent year-on-year, setting a new record for April of 278,263 units. All its brands - Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Wuling - reached new sales highs.

This is the eighth consecutive year and the earliest ever for GM to sell more than 1 million vehicles in a calendar year in China.

Also from the US, Ford Motor Co saw sales in China surge 29 percent to 96,289 in April. The strong growth helped Ford's total sales in the first four months jump 41 percent. Japan-based Nissan Motor Co Ltd reported April sales of 118,500 units in China, almost 15 percent higher than last year.