SAIC still market leader in car sales

SAIC Group (600104.SH) remained China’s market leader in vehicle sales in the first 10 months of the year with 3 million vehicles sold. Dongfeng (600006.SH), FAW (000800.SZ) and Chang’an (000625.SZ) sold 2.21 million, 2.07 million and 1.92 million cars, respectively. Total vehicle sales in China rose 25.5% in October compared with the same period last year, with January-October sales now higher than full-year 2009 levels, state media reported. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), 1.2 million passenger cars and 340,000 commercial vehicles were sold in October. Helped by lower taxes on energy-efficient cars, 70% of the cars sold last month had engine displacements of below 1.6 liters. Over the first 10 months of the year, 11.1 million cars were sold compared to 10.3 million for the whole of 2009.