China has Leapfrogged over Japan to Become the Second Largest Automotive Market

China now buys more cars than any other country in the world except for the U.S. According to a new report from Automotive News, sales of light vehicles in China are projected to reach more than 5.9 million by the end of 2006, nudging Japan from the No. 2 spot. The U.S., which should see more than 16.7 million sales by year's end, will remain far and away the largest market.

But things are expected to begin to shift. By 2010, R.L. Polk Marketing Systems in Essen, Germany, which provides data to Automotive News, expects that in China new registrations of light vehicle will climb 26% to more than 7.9 million. By 2015, General Motors (GM ) estimates that number will almost double to 14 million, including commercial vehicles
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