Chinese manufacturer Chery Automobile has confirmed that it only managed to sell 75 per cent of the number of cars it had previously expected to shift.

The firm revealed that its full-year sales were down by 6.5 per cent from the figure for 2007, representing a total of 356,000 units and short of the 480,000 it predicted early in the year.

According to the official Chinese Securities Journal, the company managed to export 130,000 cars over the course of 2008, up by ten per cent from the previous year.

Chairman Yin Tongyue told the paper: "Industry-wide restructuring will accelerate in 2009 and many companies are expected to vanish. Cash flow and orders will become the most cherished resources."

Mr Yin added that factors such as lower raw material prices will help Chinese automakers to keep posting strong export figures.

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-autos/idUSTRE5070IK20090108

Meanwhile, Volkswagen has confirmed that sales of Audi, its premium brand, topped one million in 2008 despite the economic downturn seriously hampering demand.

The German automaker revealed that sales rose by 4.1 per cent to 1,003,400 units, representing the 13th consecutive year of volume growth.

The figures were given a major boost by the relaunch of the popular A4 mid-size estate, while the advent of the Q5 mid-sport utility vehicle saw sales increase by 17.4 per cent in December.

Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler commented in a statement: "We will build on this strength in a difficult 2009 as well."

According to official figures, Audi's sales growth in western Europe was 23 per cent, a figure which compares favourably to the 16 per cent recorded for the Asia-Pacific.

The company also saw its operating profit increase by 13.6 per cent in the first nine months of the year, substantially higher than the corresponding 2.1 per cent rise in turnover.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/consumerproducts-SP/idUKL811266320090108?sp=true

The BBC reported ahead of the Detroit Auto Show that this year's event would lack the style and glitz of previous years as it reflected the current downbeat mood in the auto industry.

According to the news provider, the level of scaling back being undertaken by some of the world's largest automakers has meant that many could not or did not want to attend the annual showcase.

In the absence of Porsche, Ferrari, Land Rover, Rolls Royce, Nissan Infiniti, Mitsubishi and Suzuki, the 'Big Three' of General Motors (GM), Chrysler and Ford are focusing on survival rather than showing off new models.

Tom Purves, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce, told the BBC: "These are very difficult times for Detroit.

"Everyone at those companies must look very carefully at how they spend their marketing budgets."

Indeed, GM and Chrysler required a massive fiscal stimulus package from the US government in order to stave off bankruptcy, while Ford took a $9 billion credit line in anticipation of further worries this year.

As Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally explained: "We think that the economy is going to continue to contract, at least in the first two quarters."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7819723.stm

When the show did finally commence, Hyundai Motor Corporation was delighted to take top billing after being handed a major award by 50 US and Canadian auto journalists on 11th January.

The South Korean automaker, which received the 2009 North American Car of the Year award for its Hyundai Genesis, has been attempting to promote a more upscale, mass-market vehicle for US consumers.

Meanwhile, Ford's F-150 was named as truck of year, leading Mark Fields, the company's Head of Operations in the Americas, to tell Reuters: "This is not only a nod to our team, but also a nod to our customers, who keep pushing us."

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE50A1OF20090111