China car sales pass US in January

Car sales in China exceeded sales in the US for the first time in January, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumers bought an estimated 790,000 automobiles in China in January, executives with General Motors (GM) said while fewer than 657,000 were sold in the US. US car sales were hit severely in January, with GM reporting a drop of 49% in monthly sales of cars and light trucks. Chrysler reported a 55% drop, while Ford saw 40% fewer sales. Despite a weak January, carmakers expect total US auto sales in 2009 to remain higher than auto sales in China. Official data for China’s vehicle sales in January will be made available next week.