China's auto output hits 10m mark

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-20 14:10

CHANGCHUN: China's production of automobiles since the beginning of this year hit 10 million units on Tuesday, making it the third country in the world to surpass the annual output mark, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

Only the United States and Japan have previously passed the annual production figure of 10 million.

The event was marked at a celebration jointly sponsored by the CAAM and China Society of Automotive Engineering at the First Automobile Works (FAW) Group Corp. headquarters in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province.

FAW used the event to launch its new model Jiefang truck, with the first vehicle rolling off the production line with the serial number 10000000.

China's automotive industry has sustained a robust growth despite the global economic slowdown this year, thanks to the government support package for the sector at the beginning of the year.

Under the package, the government lowered the purchase tax on cars with engines under 1.6 liters from 10 percent to 5 percent, allocated allowances to farmers to upgrade farm vehicles and to mini-truck and mini-van owners to upgrade their vehicles.

As a result, the country's auto output surged 78.85 percent year-on-year to 1.36 million units in September, while total sales hit a new monthly high of 1.33 million units, up 77.88 percent from a year earlier, the CAAM announced in a release on October 13.

Established in 1953, FAW is China's oldest automotive group and produced the country's first domestic model of truck, under the Jiefang brand, in 1956, and later produced Hongqi (or Red Flag) bulletproof sedans, which have been used by China's state leaders.