China auto sales rose 6.7 percent in 2008

BEIJING - Auto sales in China rose 6.7 percent in 2008 despite slackening sales on the global market, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said Monday.

It was the first non-double digit growth for Chinese auto sales since 1999. The auto sales growth rate was 21.84 percent in 2007.

The sales totalled 9.38 million units last year in the world’s second largest car market after the US, the CAAM said.

The country’s carmakers rolled out 9.34 million motor vehicles last year, up 5.21 percent compared with 2007.

Both auto sales and production were below the prediction of 10 million units made at the beginning of 2008.