Local officials in Jiangsu province said that plans for a JV with British carmaker MG Rover had been held up by the central government's desire to limit new production capacity.
The government was expected to publish a new policy before the end of 2003 that would maintain a ceiling of 50 percent for foreign investment, bar most new entrants to the market and aim at making the country a global production center.
In the first 10 months of this year, China produced a record 1.6 million passenger cars, a year-on-year increase of more than 50 percent.