Auto Sales in Rural Markets Boost China to No. 1

As growing numbers of Chinese shop for their first vehicles, or trade up for newer models, sales in China's immense hinterland are booming, encouraged by tax cuts, government subsidies and growing consumer spending power, reported The Associated Press.

In regions striving to catch up with relatively well-off coastal cities, families and small businesses are gladly swapping scooters and bicycles for the comfort and convenience of the automobile.

The supercharged growth has propelled China ahead of the United States as the world's biggest auto market and provided a lifeline for automakers like General Motors and Toyota Motor Corp. as sales crashed in other markets.

The government's role in spurring the market has been crucial, but China's still low level of car ownership points to the potential for decades of strong growth even as some analysts warn the future holds tougher competition and dwindling profits.

To counter a slowdown late last year as the global financial crisis unfolded, the government halved taxes on purchases of small autos and is spending 5 billion yuan (about $730 million) on subsidies for purchases of light trucks and minivans in the countryside, where most of China's 1.3 billion people live.

Earlier this month, the purchase tax was raised to 7.5 percent, though subsidies also increased.

Happy with the results from this year's rescue package for the industry, Beijing is leery of risking a relapse, analysts say.

"The message sent by the government is that they will not let the auto industry weaken, especially not in 2010," said Jia Xinguang, chief analyst at China National Automotive Industry Consulting & Developing Corp., an investment management company.

Enticed by the potentially huge market, automakers have poured billions of dollars into ventures here in the past two decades. Total sales this year forecast to shoot past 13 million units, up a third from last year's 9.8 million.