(Photo : Great Wall Auto)

The China Passenger Car Association has predicted that China's overall automobile sales will hit 21.5 million units for the entire 2013, keeping the country's reputation as the world's largest car market.

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According to the association's secretary general Rao Da, total sales of automobiles in China in August reached 1.32 million units, or 13.3 per cent higher year-on-year. The sales include cars, multi-purpose vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and mini vans.

Rao said that while the figure was already high, it could have been higher if not for the floods that hit China's southern areas and the super high temperatures in the country's central part, all of which affected the market demand for automobiles last month.

Car Sales Continue Uptrend

China's car sales continue to show a stable uptrend growth and Rao said the association is confident that the country will be able to sell a total of 21.5 million units this year based on latest statistics.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, however, warned that domestic automakers could face further sales slump due to rising competition from foreign brands.

Latest data released by the association showed that the sales of domestic passenger automobiles dropped 17.3 per cent and its market share continues to plunge, hitting 35.2 per cent of the total market, the lowest market share since 2008.

Local Brands Invest in R&D To Win Back Customers

Rao, however, said that local brands are now heavily investing in research and development to improve the quality and design of their manufactured vehicles to make the brands more attractive to the picky Chinese car consumers.

Some local brands, including Cherry Auto, Great Wall, and Geely are stepping up efforts to heavily invest in automobile safety research in order to reinvent themselves and hopefully win back customers who preferred foreign brands.

According to the latest research, Chinese automobile consumers prefer German brands, followed by Japanese brands. Chinese brands rank third followed by American brands and South Korean brands.