Chinas Dongfeng says Feb vehicle sales up 23 pct
SHANGHAI, March 12 (Reuters) - Dongfeng Motor Group Co’s
(0489.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) vehicle sales rose more than one-fifth in February from
a year earlier, beating 19.21 percent overall growth in the
world’s second-largest auto market.
Dongfeng, China’s third-largest automaker, sold 66,360
vehicles in February, up 22.96 percent from a year earlier, it
said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Sales of passenger cars grew 22.32 percent to 43,929 units
last month, while sales of commercial vehicles were up 38.15
percent at 22,431 units, it said.
However, Dongfeng’s venture with PSA Peugeot-Citroen
(PEUP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) moved just 12,391 cars, down 8.32 percent from a year
earlier, its second consecutive monthly fall.
The French car maker’s China spokesman attributed the weak
sales largely to a snow storm that hit much of the country’s
eastern and southern regions, blocking supplies of auto parts.
The spokesman said the sales uptrend would resume in March
and that the firm had rolled out a hatchback version of its
hot-selling Peugeot 307 sedan late last month to help spur sales.
At Dongfeng’s venture with Nissan Motor (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research), car sales
grew 33.08 percent to 21,358 units in February, while sales of
commercial vehicles rose 22.24 percent to 21,779 units, Dongfeng
said.
Sales at Dongfeng’s tie-up with Honda Motor (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) surged
63.49 percent last month to 10,180 units, it said.
(Reporting by Fang Yan; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
