China's wholesale vehicle deliveries may gain 7%, spurred by economic growth and urbanization.
According to a statement from the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM wholesale deliveries may increase by 7% this year to slightly more than 20 million units. The organisation also predicted SUV sales would remain the fastest growing sector, whereas sales of commercial vehicles are likely to trail the rest of the industry.
The overall sales increase is still a long way off the stimulus-induced 32% growth in 2010, although many, including CAAM, would now prefer steady growth to rapid and unsustainable gains.
Sales of passenger vehicles are slated to climb 8.5% to 16.8 million units, up from 14.7 million units last year. Commercial vehicle sales, which dropped 5.5% last year, are forecast to gain about 1% to 3.8 million units this year.
The forecast comes on the back of a strong figures for 2012, with China overtaking Europe as the world's largest automarket.