Thursday, December 3, 2009

What To Make of China Car Sales Numbers ?

GM sold more cars in China last month than the U.S. Is this the result of increases in private consumption, or state-backed 'investment'.

Gordon C Chang says the later:

While optimistic analysts point to astounding car sales–up 70.5% in July, 94.7% in August and 83.6% in September–there are reports that central government officials have ordered state enterprises to buy fleets of vehicles and that these businesses are storing them in parking lots across the country. These stories are as yet unconfirmed, but they are consistent with statistics showing that gasoline sales have been flat this year–up only 6.4% in August, for instance, and sliding since then from all indications.


This is a somewhat crucial question, it seems to me.

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