In the first nine months of 2007, the market for domestically-assembled cars in China was just under 4,500,000 units, representing a 45.3 per cent increase over volumes in the same period last year.

In the third quarter period, the market saw just under 1.5 million new cars sold, which represents a 44 per cent increase on the volumes reported in the same period last year.

“China continues to demonstrate a voracious appetite for new cars,” said Nasir Shah, global business development director at JATO. “Despite an increasing demand for high quality foreign imports, domestically produced products offer good value for money to the many millions of consumers who are making their first car purchase.”