Data issued by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) shows that the vehicle market in China was up 8.5% in May.
CAAM said that there were 1.91m vehicles sold in China last month and that in the first five months sales were up 9% to 9.84m units.
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CAAM also said that sales of passenger cars in China rose 14% year-on-year in May to 1.59m vehicles.
May’s China market result looks strong and comes amid some forecasts that the Chinese vehicle market could hit a slowdown as economic growth eases. Some analysts have also warned that sales could be driven up by “panic buying” as buyers purchase ahead of expected tighter restrictions on purchase in response to air quality concerns.
CAAM has forecast that China’s vehicle market will grow by up to 10% this year, slightly off last year’s pace.
US automakers are continuing to do well in China. Ford sales in China grew 32% last month.
However, Japanese brands lagged in May. Toyota showed 2.7% growth and Nissan was up by just 3.1%.
