English.chinabuses.com: Dongfeng Motor Group (hereinafter referred to as Dongfeng), China's No.3 carmaker, said it expects the domestic market to grow an average 15 percent over each of the next three years, fueled by strong appetites among an emerging middle class.

China's auto industry has been challenging and volatile since the second half of 2008 amid the global financial crisis, but it has started to recover this year on stronger domestic demand under the government's stimulus policies.

"As second- and third-tier cities develop, we expect the market to see 20 percent growth in 2010, and 15 percent in the next three years," Liu told a media briefing on Wednesday to discuss the company's first-half results.

"We are optimistic about the development of China's auto industry. The market is having 10 years or more of speedy growth," he said.

He added that Dongfeng had raised its 2009 sales target 18 percent to 1.3 million vehicles, from 1.1 million.

Dongfeng sold 735,824 vehicles in the first seven months of 2009, up 11.6 percent from the same period last year. Passenger car sales rose nearly 30 percent to 546,729 units for the January-July period, but commercial vehicles sales fell 20.6 percent to 189,095 units, the company said. The carmaker reported a 5.4 percent rise in first-half net profit to 2.61 billion yuan, beating the consensus for a flat first half.

 
Dongfeng EQ6607PT6 series bus