BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's automobile sales in January-November of 2016 has hiked 14.1 percent on year to 24.94 million units, exceeding total sales in 2015, according to statistics from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAC).
Analysts say China is to become the first country with annual automobile sales topping 25 million units.
Fast growth of automobile sales was attributed to stable and improved economy and increasing residential income and investment in China as well as the favorable taxation policy for purchase of small-displacement vehicles, said Shen Danyang, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).
Besides, MOC piloted parallel imports of automobiles to optimize automobile supply, and rejuvenate used car market so as to create bigger space for new car purchase.
CAAC forecast 2-6 percent growth for China's automobile sales in 2017.
The forecast fallback in automobile sales in 2017 may be caused by weaker taxation policy support for purchase of small-displacement vehicles and the relatively high base number after rapid growth in 2016, said Shen.
To stabilize and expand automobile consumption, MOC would continue to innovate automobile sales management system, launch management measures of automobile sales, and make trade of used cars easier. Enditem (Edited by Li Xiaohui, lixh@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
