Sales of heavy-duty commercial vehicles surged to 316,725 units in the second quarter of 2010, an 83% increase from the second quarter of 2009 according to a report published by ACT Research (ACT) and China's State Information Center (SIC).

The recently released China Commercial Vehicle Outlook also provided an update to the forecast for commercial vehicle sales for the remainder of 2010 through 2014. Due to very strong demand in the first half of 2010, the forecast of full year heavy-duty truck and tractor sales has been boosted above a million units, a 62% increase over 2009 sales. However, the sales volume is expected to decline from the second quarter peak over the second half of the year and into 2011 as China’s economy eases towards slower growth.

“The overall size of the China commercial vehicle market continues to amaze,” said Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT. “While 2009 was the first year for the entire medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicle market to eclipse 1 million units, in 2010 the heavy-duty segment alone is projected eclipse last year’s full market total. This growth is due to subside somewhat in coming quarters as infrastructure investment and curbs on real estate development take hold.”

The construction market is expected to cool further in the latter half of 2010 as the pipeline of new projects slows and existing projects are completed. Road freight volumes were up 16.3% year to date through June compared to the first half of 2009, ACT said.

The China Commercial Vehicle Demand Outlook is published jointly by ACT and SIC and released quarterly. The next issue will be published in December.

Source: Diesel Progress Online