EFTA00766156.pdf

From: David Stem < IMI==l> To: Jeffrey Epstein leevacation@gmail.com> Subject: China Daily 9 Jan: Chinese auto market takes over US Date: Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:36:38 4.0000 Chinese auto market takes over US China's passenger vehicle market ended last year with a 59 percent year-on-year sates increase to surpass the United States as the worlds largest auto market for the first year. thanks to the central government's stimulus package. The domestic sales of can. sponsmtility vehicles (SUV), minivans and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) hit 1016 million units last year. surging from 6.4 million units in 2008. said Rao Da. senviaty-general of the China Passenger Car Association on Filthy. The growth is also the highest in the country's auto history. with total automobile sales expected to surge 44 petcent year-on-year to 11.5 million units in 2009. Statistics from the US consulting institution Center for Automotive Research showed that new car sales in the US last year plunged 21 percent year-on-year to a 27-year low of 10.43 million units. more than 3 million behind China. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAN) is expected to release detailed matket figures of the comity's automobile industry on Monday. The spike in vehicle sales was largely boosted by the governments stimulus policies for lifting market demand, which included tax cuts on small-displacement automobiles. subsidies for trade-ins and subsidies for farmers to buy vehicles. A low comparative base in 2008. when car sales growth slowed to 6.7 percent with 9.311million vehicles sold. ado helped boost 2009 figures. To further support the worlds fastest growing auto market, the Chinese government said last month it will extend stimulus measures in the automobile industry for one mote year. The purchase tax for smaller cars will be lilted from the current 5 percent to 7.5 percent of the total vehicle price. The government also decided to raise the subsidy for trade-in cars from between 1.000 and 6.00D yuan (5440 to 5880) to between 5.000 yuan and 18.000 yuan per vehicle. The governments continued support for the industry promises to fuel its rise for the coming years. Automobile industry consulting firm Sinotrust predicted that vehicle sales will reach 15.11million units this year. with a yearotryvar growth rate of 15.2 percent. According to the Ministry of Public Security. until the end of last year. almost 200 million Chinese people ate able to drive a vehicle. making up about 15 patient of the country's 1.1billion population. "Natural demand will continue to expand in the next few years," said Lang Xuchong, chief auto industry analyst at Sinotrust. Chinese automakers launched a record 221 new passenger vehicle models last year, with a majority of them upgraded models and less than half being new ones, according to the latest statistics from the CAAM. Chinese automakers are expected to launch about 100 new models this year. The brisk sales have also brought challenges to China's appeal for a green society. However, a number ofanalysts said the sales may also speed up automakers' effirts to develop next-generation energy-efficient and emission-free vehicles. Moreover, 'the revised policy for this year, with tripled subsidies to encourage the replacement of outdated vehicles with high emissions and unstable driving performance, will contribute to an environmentally friendly society in which the automobile industry has a heavy responsibility," said Yale Zhang, director of the Greater China Vehicle Forecasts for US auto industry consultancy CSM Worldwide. Still, Chinese cities may face worsening traffic as the car boom puts an increasing number of people behind the wheel, with a number of local governments already expressing concern about the rising number of cars. Zhang Gong, director of Beijing's municipal commission of development, said the capital will enter the "automobile age" when every 100 families own 66A cars. The capital is rated in a Sohu.com survey of more than 5,000 Web users as the most crowded Chinese city in November. This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. If you have received it by mistake please let us know by reply and then delete it from your system; you should not copy the message or disclose its contents to anyone. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of Asia Gateway Ltd. shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it. Asia Gateway Ltd. Michelin House 81 Fulham Road EFTA00766156 London SW3 6RD UK Tel: Fax: C 614381 EFTA00766157