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SHANGHAI, Dec 29 (Reuters) - China's banking regulator has given approval to auto giants General Motors , Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp to conduct auto financing in China, the world's fastest growing major car market.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission gave the approval to the three foreign companies, the regulator said in a statement on its Web site www.cbrc.gov.cn on Monday.
GM's auto-financing unit -- General Motors Acceptance Corp -- will team up with an arm of its long-standing Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, while Volkswagen and Toyota will go it alone, the regulator said.
Rules allowing non-bank institutions to set up car financing were issued in October by Beijing, fulfilling World Trade Organisation pledges more than a year late, but ensuring a longer-term fillip for an already hot car market.
China's car sales, which broke the million mark for the first time last year, are seen almost doubling this year.
But less than 20 percent of China's purchases are now made with the use of loans, and all from local banks, compared with upward of 80 percent in more developed markets in North America and Europe.