China's Dongfeng Motor to sell 180,000 vehicles in 2008

Shanghai. December 28 (Gasgoo.com); China's Dongfeng Motor plans to sell 180,000 vehicles in 2008 and 300,000 vehicles annually by 2012, the company announced on its web site earlier this week.

Under the company's third five year plan (2008-2012), Dongfeng Motor will produce and sell 300,000 vehicles and 300,000 engines annually by 2012, and its sales revenue will hit RMB 30 billion by 2012.

The company also plans to grab 15 percent of Chinese light-duty truck market by 2012.

In 2007, Dongfeng Motor sold approximately 150,000 vehicles in Chinese market, said Zhu Fushou, general manager of Dongfeng Motor.

As a leader in China's truck industry, Dongfeng remains China's largest player in heavy-duty and medium duty segments. However, Dongfeng was the only truck maker that saw sales drop last year, according to an Automotive News report.

In 2006, Dongfeng Motor's truck sales fell 6 percent to 67,600 units. Its medium duty truck sales also fell 7 percent to 60,762 units, the worse showing of any maker, according to Automotive News. In contrast, Dongfeng's light commercial vehicle sales rose 19 percent to 14,025 in 2006.

Dongfeng Motor Group, China's third-biggest auto maker, sold 1.02 million vehicles in the first eleven months, exceeding the company's one million sales target set at the beginning of the year, the company announced in its monthly sales report.

Dongfeng Motor Group has joint venture companies with Honda, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Nissan and Korean automaker Kia. Most vehicles Dongfeng sold are made by these joint venture automakers.

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