Sales of Toyota (NYSE: TM) and Ford (NYSE: F) vehicles in China grew by leaps and bounds during the first half of the year, according to the latest estimates. While Ford saw a growth rate of 25% to just over 93,000 vehicles sold in China, Toyota witnessed a staggering 77% increase to 212,000 vehicles during the same January-July sales period, based on increasing sales of the Camry sedan.

Ford saw great sales of the Focus Sedan, which totaled in at just over 55,600 units for the first half of the year. Meanwhile, Toyota was helped along with its Chinese-based sales due to the immense popularity of the Camry sedan, which -- coincidentally -- has been the best-selling car in the U.S. for eight out of the last nine years. Toyota's Chinese Camry started rolling off assembly lines just over a year ago from a new plant in the Chinese city of Guangzhou with the goal of taking market share from Honda's Accord and other competing passenger cars. In doing so, the new Camry sold 78,000 in the first six months of 2007. Not a bad start at all.

Is China the next mecca for automakers who may see sales slowdowns in the U.S. based on high gas prices and housing worries that don't seem to be going away? China and India are not only the hottest new markets for retailers but for automakers and any other industry that needs to sell products to participants in burgeoning economies. The numbers Toyota and Ford have so far in 2007 seem a little low to U.S. sales numbers, but I have little doubt that they won't stay there.

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