Carmakers Predict Single-Digit Sales Growth in China

Automakers expect China's market for passenger and commercial vehicles, which expanded by an estimated 5.5% last year, to grow 5%-10% in 2013, Reuters reports.

The news service cites a survey of domestic and foreign auto executives in China by Gasgoo.com, a Chinese Internet-based supplier marketplace. Half of those polled expect a single-digit vehicle sales advance this year. The rest forecast an increase of about 10%.

The executives cite a Chinese consumer boycott of Japanese models and municipal measures that seek to ease urban congestion by discouraging car purchases.

Japanese automakers predict their sales in China will gradually revive as the backlash from a territorial dispute fades. But Nissan Motor Co. says it doesn't know if demand there will ever return to previous levels.