PRC car sales skid, reveal internal issues

XINHUA

...A rash of car purchases by Chinese individuals a few years ago have persuaded most global auto giants to pin their hopes on the Chinese market. But the sudden slowdown of car sales since last year, largely due to worsening traffic and rising oil prices, have made many of their ambitious capacity-expansion plans look like pipe dreams...

...Though some have recently scaled down their investment for the coming years, the forecast for the industry's output implies that most automakers are still reluctant to acknowledge reality...

...But the current Chinese conditions of a widening urban-rural income gap, poor urban planning and emerging problems of resources and environment all mean the market now, and in the foreseeable future, is not as huge as predicted...