Passenger vehicle sales in China, the world's second-biggest auto market, grew by more than one-fifth in the first half of this year as carmakers cut prices and launched new products to woo buyers, an industry body said on Friday.

January-to-June sales of domestic-made passenger vehicles - sedans, sport utility vehicles, multi-purpose vehicles and mini vans - reached 3.08 million units, up 22.3 percent form a year ago, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Related readings:  China becomes 2nd largest exporter of auto parts to US  Auto sales keep roaring  Number of private motor vehicles in China hits 22m  Passenger car demand to exceed 5m units

Sedan sales jumped 25.9 percent to 2.29 million units.

Passenger vehicles sales in June alone were 511,900 units, up 28.6 percent from the same period last year.

Analysts attribute the buoyant growth largely to car producers' price incentives and new product offerings, such as the Skoda Octavia, Toyota's new Corolla, Nissan's Livina and the Geely Vision.

Car prices in China fell by 3.3 percent from January to June, according to Cheshi.com.cn, a Beijing-based website that tracks car prices nationwide.

On Tuesday, US carmaker Ford Motor Co's venture with Chang'an Motor Corp slashed prices of the Focus compact, its best seller, by 6,000 to 12,000 yuan.

Ford Motor China said the venture's first-half sales surged by 57 percent to 93,587 cars, including 55,676 units of the Focus.

The company, which also makes the Ford Mondeo, Volvo S40 and Mazda3 in southwestern city of Chongqing, will launch an all-new Mondeo later this year.

"Car prices will further decline in the second half as a result of mounting pressure on old products from new comparable models to lure customers," said Hua Xue, CEO of Cheshi.com.cn.

A total of 32 all-new passenger car models will be launched in China this year, according to market intelligence from German carmaker Volkswagen's venture with First Automotive Works Corp (FAW).

(China Daily 07/07/2007 page10)

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)