Car Sales In China Suprass US

US Car Sales Below 10m...
US car sales below 10mAnnualized US car sales slipped below 10m last month in spite of steep discounts offered by carmakers and government efforts to ease lending.General Motors’ monthly sales of cars and light trucks fell by 49 per cent last month, Chrysler’s by 55 per cent and Ford Motor’s by 40 per cent, including vehicles made by Volvo, its Swedish premium brand.GM said it estimated the overall annualised selling rate for cars at 9.8m in the US in January, compared with 10.3m in December, and less than China’s estimated selling rate of 10.7m last month.”This is the first time in history that China has surpassed the US,” said Michael DiGiovanni, GM’s head of global sales and industry analysis. However, auto market analysts in China said the figures were not comparable because the Chinese figure included all vehicles produced in China - including heavy commercial vehicles and buses - while the US figure did not.

Chinese passenger car production last year was 5.8m.The slide in car sales hit all major manufacturers, but will intensify the pressure on Detroit’s carmakers in particular, which are scrambling to avoid bankruptcy. GM and Chrysler are working on restructuring plans due by February 17, as conditions of their $17.4bn emergency government loans.