China car exports near, says US

Chinese-built cars could start shipping to US markets in volume by the end of the decade, Al Warner, director of the Office of Automotive Affairs at the US Department of Commerce, told an industry conference near Detroit. He said US imports of Chinese auto parts had already increased more than 100%, to US$2.8 billion, between 2001 and 2003. Warner said only Honda and Hyundai among global automakers had enough China manufacturing capacity right now to build cars for both Chinese and overseas markets. But that could change, he said.