The two largest auto makers in China have both seen a significant growth in sales over the first half of the year.

Both Volkswagen and the country's dominant manufacturer General Motor (GM) saw sales rise.

Volkswagen saw a 31 per cent boost in sales, with GM experiencing a 49 per cent rise in car sales.
"GM and our China operations benefited from a stronger-than-expected domestic vehicle market in the first half," said Kevin Wale, president of GM China Group.

"We expect vehicle sales in China to remain steady through the end of 2006 and top last year's record."

Demand for cars in China is increasing as the huge inland population begin to adopt wider car ownership.

Although official figures for total car sales in China for the first six months of the year have not yet been released, sales were up 44.2 per cent to 2.11 million units during the first five months.

Car sales grew by 21.4 per cent in China last year.

Ÿ Adfero Ltd