China auto sales accelerate in November

Car sales in China accelerated in November, rising 26.9% month-on-month, as consumers rushed to take advantage of subsidies for fuel-efficient cars due to expire at the end of the year, AFP reported, citing state media. China auto sales are already at record levels for the year, but November’s 1.7 million units sold pushed the total over 16 million units. Sales for the first 11 months of 2010 have already exceeded 2009 annual sales by 3 million units. In Beijing, where consumers are concerned that the government may implement new restrictions on auto purchases to limit traffic, consumers bought 20,000 units in the first week of December alone. General Motors (GM.NYSE) said it and its joint venture partner SAIC (600104.SH) saw sales increase 32.7% year-on-year in the first 10 months of 2010 to 2.17 million units; Ford (F.NYSE) said China sales increased 39% year-on-year over the same period.