China's vehicle and component exports grew much faster than imports during the first quarter of the year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Vehicle and component exports shot up by 50.9 percent year-on-year to US$1.486 billion during the period, statistics from the ministry show.

The nation imported US$4.093 billion's worth in vehicles and components from January to March this year, an increase of 33.7 percent from a year earlier - but that's down from the 84 percent growth seen in 2003 as a whole.

Exports of assembled vehicles and knocked-down kits were worth US$116 million during the period, jumping 56.4 percent from the first quarter of last year, according to statistics.

Key component exports surged by 73.6 percent year-on-year to US$224 million during the first quarter of this year.

The nation also exported US$1.146 billion in spare parts from January to March this year, up 46.6 percent from a year ago.

China has called on local companies to speed up efforts to export vehicles and components as their prices and quality are progressively reaching international levels.

The nation's vehicle and component exports will reach US$70-100 billion annually by 2010, according to a government target.

Exports will control 40 percent of total sales of vehicles and components made in China by then.

The nation's imports of assembled vehicles rose by 8.2 percent to 51,200 units during the first quarter of the year, statistics showed.

The import value reached US$1.559 billion, an increase of 29.4 percent from the same period last year.

Assembled vehicle imports included 35,500 passenger cars, up 33.9 percent; 7,300 sport utility vehicles, down 44.9 percent; 3,500 nine-seat and smaller buses, down 1.1 percent. The rest were in the form of knock-down kits.

Analysts attributed the slowdown in assembled vehicle import growth largely to purchasing delays of consumers who are looking forward to much cheaper imported cars as import quotas are set to be cancelled and as tariffs will further decline next year.

"The consumers' wait-and-see sentiment will continue to grow later this year," said Jia Xinguang of the China National Automotive Industry Consulting and Development Corp.

China will cut tariffs on vehicle imports to 30 percent next year from 34.2-37.6 percent at present in line with its commitments to the World Trade Organization.

China's key component imports climbed by 56.8 percent year-on-year to US$850 million from January to March this year.

The nation also imported US$1.683 billion in spare parts during the period, up 28.1 percent from a year earlier.

Sales of vehicles made in China totaled 1,277,700 units from January to March this year, up 28.98 percent from the same period last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Locally made passenger car sales grew by 44.47 percent year-on-year to 567,000 units in the first three months of this year.

(China Daily April 19, 2004)