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Sales grew at 6.7% in 2008, down from 10%+ for most of the last decade. (http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/10/business/AS-China-Auto-Sales.php)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/BYD_F3_Hybrid.jpgAP- Feb. 10, 2009

Chinese made BYD F3

Sign of the times? -- Ed.

SHANGHAI — China's monthly vehicle sales surpassed those in the United States for the first time in January, moving this country closer to becoming the world's biggest auto market, data released Tuesday showed.

With its growing middle class and vast potential as a consumer market, China is vital for General Motors Corp., Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp. as they count on demand here to offset weakness in the U.S. and elsewhere.

But China's ascent in the global auto market has been hastened by the plunge in U.S. auto sales, which tumbled 37 percent in January to a 26-year low of 656,976 units.
Chinese vehicle sales also have cooled, but hardly as dramatically. In January, 735,000 vehicles were sold, down 14.4 percent from a monthly record 860,000 in January 2008...http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/10/business/AS-China-Auto-Sales.php

With a population of 4X the US, it's about time.

I noticed it mentioned that auto sales dropped some there as well, however I am confident that the new customers that just "have" to have a vehicle are driving this and when the US market picks up, the Chinese market will boom.

I don't mind them buying more cars... I do mind them putting many, many unsafe and very polluting vehicles on the road. We have enough trouble with smog and other nasty emissions over there as it is. :(

With all the reports about layoffs at Chinese factories, some closing completely and some on indefinite furlow (where they don't have to pay any severance package) Chinese car sales are gonna tank, and soon. They seem to lag conditions in the States at the moment.

The push for a car in every Chinese driveway is actually a stablizing factor --- the average middle-class Chinese wants his car, and not a war of expansion. As long as there are jobs and money to go around, the Chinese government doesn't face extreme unrest.

Funny paradyne. China sells low-labour-costed goods to USA, and supports a lopsided balance of payment in return, as long as it gets more orders for more shelf-space at Walmart.

We are all in this together. Collectively we are the world. Never more so, than in a recession.