China may not be world's second car maker after all

Automotive News

In early January, China's Xinhua news agency proudly reported that China had become the world's second largest car market. China's 2005 sales totaled 5.9 million, topping former No. 2 Japan's 5.8 million, it said.

Not so fast, replied Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper. The Chinese sales numbers included Chinese vehicle exports. Subtract those, and China's sales came to 5.7 million. Japan remained No. 2 in 2005, the paper declared.