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Car sales in the United States might be struggling, but in China, they are moving product. Passenger vehicle sales spiked 48% last month, its biggest gain since February 2006. Chinese buyers picked up 872,900 cars in June 2009, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, and total auto sales (with buses and trucks included) climbed 36% to 1.14 million year-over-year. Government officials are proclaiming the country's "downward slide" over, and aggressive goals are being set. The full 2009 vehicle sales forecast was raised from 10.2 million to 11 million, as sales for the first half of the year were up 18% year-over-year to 6.1 million.
Shares in SAIC Motor were up 8.6% on the news. That's after the stock's value has already tripled this year, blowing away the Shanghai Composite Index's impressive 71% gain so far. Dongfeng Motor Group Co. (OTC: DNFGF), the biggest of the auto manufacturers listed in Hong Kong, gained 9% and has more than doubled year-to-date.
China's stimulus package is credited with the result, according to a report by Bloomberg. The $585 billion government infusion has made China the world's largest auto market (beating the United States) and has even helped the likes of General Motors (OTC: GMGMQ) by providing consumers willing to buy. What happens next? Those old "Made in the USA" commercials with bad dubbing?
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