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Brilliance China on track to hit car sales target

SHANGHAI, April 20 (Reuters) - Brilliance China Automotive Holdings said on Sunday it had sold more than 9,000 units of its sole sedan model this year, putting it on track to hit a sales target that some analysts had deemed too optimistic.

Hong Kong-listed Brilliance, which makes the car in a 51-percent owned venture with Shenyang Jinbei Automotive , had aimed to unload 30,000 of its Zhonghua sedans in 2003, a senior executive said.

Analysts had doubted Brilliance could achieve its objective this year for the Zhonghua, a much-anticipated car that debuted in August 2002 and costs about 169,800 yuan ($20,510).

"Last year the car market shone. This year sales will again increase tremendously. From the time our Zhonghua was launched in August, we've sold 18,000 cars," said Zhou Yongjiang, senior vice president of Brilliance's joint venture.

Brilliance sold 8,826 Zhonghuas in 2002. To further galvanise sales, it rolled out an automatic 2.0-litre version on Sunday.

Its venture, China's biggest van maker, also sold a record 65,000 of its flagship Jinbei vans in 2002, and sales will again increase this year, said Su Qiang, Brilliance's chief executive.

The venture sold 16,000 vans in the first three months, a 51 percent jump from the same period of last year, he told Reuters. ($1=8.277 Yuan)