Car Wholesales in China Climb 14%

Wholesales of passenger vehicles to dealers in China jumped 14% to a record 28.03 million units in 2016, according to the China Assn. of Automobile Manufacturers.

Earlier this week the China Passenger Car Assn. reported that retail sales in the country grew 16% to 23.9 million units last year.

Both groups agree that sales at year-end were boosted by consumers who rushed to buy small-engine cars before the government halved a special tax break. CAAM says demand for models that qualified for the incentive surged 21% last year and accounted for 70% of total passenger car sales.

CAAM notes that wholesales of cars in China rose 7% in 2014 and 5% in 2015.