(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-11 16:02

BEIJING - China's motor vehicle industry continues to grow rapidly, with both production and sales rising by around 25 percent in the first eight months of this year.

Sources with the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Tuesday that between January and August, 5.69 million motor vehicles were sold nationwide, a growth of 24.95 percent year-on-year. Production was up 23.57 percent to 5.75 million for the period.

In August alone, 481,300 passenger vehicles were sold nationwide, up 5.29 percent on the previous month, or 26.77 percent on the same month of last year. The total included 357,400 cars, up 7.3 percent month-on-month, or 28.4 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, 190,300 vehicles for commercial purposes were sold nationwide, up 26.75 percent over the year-earlier level.

In terms of car sales, Shanghai Volkswagen ranked first for the second consecutive month in August, with a sales volume of 42,518 cars, up 65.72 percent.

It was followed by FAW Volkswagen with a sales volume of 42,460 cars, up 46.62 percent.

Shanghai General Motors came the third, with a sales volume of 39,662 cars, up 51.58 percent.

Market observers attributed the higher-than-expected growth in car sales to increasing demand and credit purchases as inflation rises.