BEIJING, Sept 26 (Reuters) - China's automotive imports almost doubled in the first eight months of the year from the same period of 2002 to reach a record $9.3 billion as the industry sped ahead to meet demand, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.
But the 94.7 percent year-on-year rise in imports was slightly slower than the annual 109.2 percent growth seen in the first seven months.
Xinhua did not provide a breakdown by vehicle type, nor mention the total number of vehicles or parts imported.
In the first seven months, almost half of vehicle imports were cars, representing 61,400 units.
Imports of vehicles are expected to hit 180,000 units this year against 127,000 vehicles in 2002, state media reported in April, though this is still just a fraction of the number of cars Chinese factories are rolling out.
Car output over the first eight months rose 89.7 percent year-on-year to 1.25 million cars -- surpassing the 1.06 million in all of 2002, the State Statistical Bureau said earlier in the month.
Auto exports rose 66.3 percent in the first eight months to $239 million, with 60,835 vehicles being sent overseas, Xinhua added.
China mainly exports buses, light trucks and agricultural vehicles rather than cars, which are almost all sold domestically to satisfy huge local demand.
Total auto exports, including parts, were worth $2.98 billion in the same period, the official news agency said without providing a comparison.
Rising imports pose a small but significant threat to foreign automakers producing in China, such as General Motors Corp and Volkswagen AG , as well as domestic car makers in a market shielded by high duties on imported autos.
China has pledged to slash tariffs on auto imports to 25 percent by July 2006 from between 40 and 50 percent now and abolish all quotas by January 2005, in line with commitments made upon joining the World Trade Organisation in late 2001.
Annual car sales in China broke the one million mark for the first time last year, surging 56 percent to 1.126 million.