China has 176.5 million motor vehicles, 188.8 million drivers

September 28th, 2009 KABUL - Taliban militants have attacked a convoy of trucks in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province, killing six drivers, the interior ministry said in a statement Monday. "Enemies of Afghanistan attacked a convoy, set fire to six trucks and killed the drivers in Marawora district Sunday," the statement said.

September 25th, 2009 China's 2009 auto sales forecast to hit 12.6MBEIJING — China's auto sales should soar to 12.6 million units this year, up 35 percent from 2008, boosted by subsidies that the industry is lobbying Beijing to extend, a government researcher said Friday. China's auto sales have surpassed those of the limping U.S.

September 7th, 2009 China reverses death penalty in drunk driving caseBEIJING — An appeals court in China overturned the death penalty Tuesday in a drunk driving case, sentencing the defendant instead to life imprisonment. Sun Weiming, 30, was sentenced to death after being convicted for a fatal accident last December that killed four people and injured another in southwestern Chengdu.

September 5th, 2009 BEIJING - China is expected to manufacture a record 12 million vehicles in 2009, an official with the country's top economic planning agency said Saturday. Chinese domestic auto makers were expected to produce and sell more than eight million vehicles in the first eight months this year, said Chen Bin, director of the department of industry under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

August 7th, 2009 China's July auto sales up 64 percentBEIJING — China's auto sales surpassed the United States' again in July, jumping 64 percent over a year earlier to 1.1 million vehicles as sales tax cuts and government subsidies spurred demand, according to data reported Friday. The figures are a boost to global automakers that are looking to China to drive revenues amid sluggish demand elsewhere.

July 9th, 2009 China's June auto sales surge 36.5 percentBEIJING — China's auto sales soared 36.5 percent in June from a year earlier to 1.14 million vehicles, boosted by government incentives, an industry group said Thursday. Passenger car sales hit a monthly high of 872,900 units, the China Association of Automobile Manufactures said.

July 9th, 2009 China beats US auto market in first-half sales of 2009 BEIJING — China surpassed the United States as the world's biggest auto market for the first half of 2009 after June sales soared 36.5 percent from a year earlier, according to data reported Thursday. China's vehicle sales in June rose to 1.14 million, the second-highest month to date after April's 1.15 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said.

July 9th, 2009 China's June auto sales up 36.5 percentBEIJING — China's auto sales soared 36.5 percent in June from a year earlier to 1.14 million vehicles, boosted by government incentives, an industry group said Thursday. Passenger car sales hit a monthly high of 872,900 units, the China Association of Automobile Manufactures said.

July 6th, 2009 Ford says China sales up 14 percent in first halfBEIJING — Ford Motor Co. said its sales in China surged 14 percent in the first half of 2009, another positive sign for global automakers that are counting on China to drive revenues as they struggle in North America.

June 13th, 2009 LONDON - Eleven million Britons have had sex in their motors, according to a new research. People living in the South West are the most likely to get their lovemaking into gear, according to research by price comparison site confused.com.

June 11th, 2009 MUNICH - BMW has no plans for forming a partnership with other manufacturers on battery powered electric vehicles and has its own plans to mass-produce "megacity" e-vehicles by the year 2015, BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer has announced. The car maker will decide by the end of the year whether to establish a subsidiary for the "megacity vehicles" alongside the current BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce labels, according to Reithofer.

April 29th, 2009 China Unicom says 1Q profit $525 millionBEIJING — China Unicom Ltd., one of China's three major state-owned phone companies, said Wednesday it earned 3.6 billion yuan ($525 million) in the first quarter following its merger with rival China Netcom. The profit for the three months ending March 31 was equal to 0.15 yuan per share, the Beijing-based company said.

April 28th, 2009 China Southern Airlines 1Q profit down 71 percentBEIJING — China Southern Airlines Ltd., one of China's three major state-owned carriers, said Tuesday its profit fell 71 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier amid a slump in traffic. Profit for the three months ending March 31 was 222 million yuan ($32.4 million) or 0.03 yuan per share, the carrier said.

January 30th, 2009 BEIJING - China will provide special subsidy to companies and institutions that use hybrid vehicles like the electric and fuel cell cars, the finance ministry said. The ministry said the scheme in 11 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, would offset the extra fuel costs companies incur on ordinary vehicles.

January 11th, 2009 BEIJING - Auto sales in China rose 6.7 percent in 2008 despite slackening sales on the global market, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said Monday. It was the first non-double digit growth for Chinese auto sales since 1999.