China's auto sales rebound slightly in August

By Kim Young-gyo
HONG KONG, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- China's automobile sales rebounded slightly in August, an industry group said Friday, as new models boosted demand.
The domestic sales of passenger cars, sports-utility vehicles and minivans rose 8.7 percent on-month to 1,041,000 units in August from 957,724 in the previous month, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said.
The latest figure is a 3.3 percent increase from 1,008,000 units in the same month last year.
The industry group attributed the sales growth in August to demand for new vehicles released by both local and foreign automakers.
Meanwhile, China's State Information Center earlier estimated that the country's auto sales growth will slow to about 3 to 5 percent this year after the government cut incentives that boosted sales in 2010.
The Chinese government ended tax breaks for purchases of small cars at the end of 2010 and reimposed a 10 percent tax at the beginning of this year as part of its efforts to fight air pollution and ease ever-worsening traffic congestion.
The tax breaks, introduced in 2009 to buoy domestic demand amid the economic slowdown, had boosted China's auto market and helped it overtake the United States as the world's largest in 2009 and 2010.