For the first time ever, China has overtaken the US in vehicle sales for the first half of 2009. Does it signal the end of US as the world’s biggest auto market? China had strong sales in June, an increase of 36.5%. China’s total vehicle sales for the first half of the year rose to 6.1 million, up 17.7% from a year earlier. In the US, vehicle sales in the same period dropped to 4.8 million units.
The only month where more vehicles were sold in the U.S. than in China was May. This rate also leaves the U.S. on track for an annual total of less than 10 million vehicles while China is looking at more than 12 million. That is not to say that China was immune from the global economic crisis. China’s vehicle sales weakened in late 2008.
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