More than 20 auto manufacturers have lowered their car prices, bringing soaring sales in China's auto market during the first six months of this year.

Manufacturers have lowered car prices one after another, triggering a price war between domestic brands, said insiders attending the Eighth China International Fair for Investment and Trade in Xiamen in East China's Fujian Province.

Even the Volkswagen Corporation, which always takes a cautious attitude toward its products' prices, has announced that it will adjust the prices of all its automobiles, said insiders.

Experts said that the competition will help drive the development of China's auto industry, with sedans making up the bulk of the sales.

In the first six months of this year, China's auto sales have increased by 496,800 over the same period last year. Of them, sedan sales grew by 271,700 units.

(Xinhua News Agency September 10, 2004)