China Vehicle Production Up 11.5% in January

Vehicle production in China totaled 2,286,948 units in the first month of the year, an 11.5% jump from year-ago and the fifth straight month of volume exceeding the 2 million-unit mark.

Nearly every sector witnessed growth in January with light trucks posting the largest year-over-year increase at 18.2%. Car output climbed 8.7% in the month following a brief 2-month period of decline, while total bus builds jumped 5.7%. Medium/heavy trucks, however, plummeted 20.9% from like-2014, the largest year-over-year decline since February 2013’s 38.9% drop.

Production of SAIC’s all-new MG GS began in January with 122 units built. The utility vehicle is the first SUV for the MG brand and will sell between RMB120,000 - RMB160,000 ($19,265-$25,686).

SAIC GM-Wuling’s Honguang van started out the year as the highest-volume model, holding a 3.7% share of production. With 84,758 units built, it outnumbered second-place finisher Great Wall’s Hover H series by about 11,000 vehicles. FAW’s Volkswagen Jetta rounded out the top three with 54,735 builds.

FAW Volkswagen was the top manufacturer in January with an 8.7% share of production. SAIC GM-Wuling and Shanghai VW followed close behind, accounting for 7.9% and 7.8%, respectively.

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