China overtakes US to become world's largest auto market

[OhioChick]

Source: Economic Times India

12 Jul 2009, 1514 hrs IST, PTI

BEIJING: China has for the first time overtaken the United States as the world's largest auto market with sales of locally-made vehicles surging 17.7 per cent to 6.1 million units in the first six months this year.

Sales of China's domestically made automobiles topped 1.14 million units in June, up 36.5 per cent over the figure a year earlier, the fourth month in a row surpassing the 1.1 million units mark, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said.

China's vehicle sales in June rose to 1.14 million, the second-highest month to date after April's 1.15 million units, out of which passenger car sales hit a monthly record of 872,900 units, it said.

Total auto sales for the first half of the year (Jan- June) rose to 6.1 million, up 17.7 per cent from a year earlier, out-pacing the US market, where passenger car sales in the same period plunged to 4.8 million amid the economic slowdown.


Read more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/International-Business/China-overtakes-US-as-top-auto-mkt/articleshow/4768982.cms

[NOW tense]

1. Thank you capitalism for selling out to "communism"..... n/t

[shanti]

2. it'll be

a cold day in hell before i ever buy a chinese car!

[ChromeFoundry]

3. makes sense...

with all the manufacturing that moved offshore to China. Those workers have to get to work somehow! Meanwhile, the US ex-Workers are at home scouring the internet looking for anything to keep the family fed.

[OhioChick]

6. Just noticed your new sigline....

:spray: :rofl:

[ihavenobias]

4. If I'm not mistaken, China has an import tariff on cars that's around 20+ %.

Contrast that with the US and a 2% tariff. What's wrong with this picture?

[divideandconquer]

9. I wonder if our Japanese trade partners will let Chinses cars in?

All our Asian trade partners have protectionist policies but the elites in this country continue to promote unequal trade policies in order to drive down middleclass American wages. South Koreans are coming over to the US to buy the new Hyundai Genesis because it's cheaper here, obvious proof that they are "dumping". Not only do our American union workers have to compete with nations that have national healthcare and pensions, southern Republican/DINO run states that subsidize foriegn companies, they also have to compete in a rigged trade game.

<http://subscribers.wardsauto.com/ar/genesis_resell_korea/wall.html?return=http://subscribers.wardsauto.com/ar/genesis_resell_korea/>

[WriteDown]

14. The benefits of having a trade surplus and not a deficit. nt

[Lasher]

15. I was surprised to find so little about this on the internet.

The Chinese government requires local partnerships and local parts content in the vehicles sold there. American imports get taxed at a fat 25% rate.

http://www.businessweek.com/autos/autobeat/archives/2009/05/gm_looks_to_chi.html

So there are significant trade barriers in addition to an automatic 25% import tariff. I'd love to know more about these trade inequities. I don't know how anyone could justify this.

[Oregone]

5. This should also be great for the environment

doh!

[ConcernedCanuk]

7. But the USA has more wars going on than China does

.
.
.

so THERE!

nah, nah, nahnahh

[Cali_Democrat]

8. Well they do have 1.3 billion people

You would think this would happen at some point.

[boomerbust]

10. If GM and Chrysler

Would have been liquidated, who do you think would have swooped in and bought up all the assets? China. And the plan of the Southern Republican Senators to completely destroy manufacturing in this country would have been complete.

[Vidar]

11. Thank God we're still the #1 weapons maker.

:sarcasm:

[UndertheOcean]

12. Well, they are 1.3 billion people , they need cars ,

Or are US citizens only allowed this.

[ChromeFoundry]

16. When jobs are localized to the citizens...

mass, public transportation is the ideal solution to get workers to their place of employment. When the jobs market dissolves, people need to travel farther and farther to find work. This is where the US is now, and it is getting worse every day. I'm not saying that China should not be allowed to make cars, not by a long shot. I am saying that the majority of vehicles supporting a population should be manufactured by the citizens of said country. This is not protectionism and it is not racist or xenophobic... or any other label that you care to insert. A country needs to have some form of self-sufficiency or they cannot sustain the citizens residing in the boundaries.

[grahamhgreen]

13. They were more advanced when they all rode bicycles (seriously). nt