A man walks outside a General Motor Chevrolet dealership in Beijing, China, last month. (Alexander F. Yuan / Associated Press)
Emerging markets boost U.S. carmakers
Strong growth in China and other emerging markets is fueling a faster-than-anticipated recovery in worldwide auto sales. A new forecast by J.D. Power and Associates sees global sales recovering modestly this year, and exceeding their 2007 peak of 70.4 million vehicles next year. The main drivers are emerging markets, with China at the top of the list. Ford recently announced that its sales in China, mainly through its Chinese joint venture, surged 84 percent in the first quarter of the year to 153,362 vehicles. General Motors and its joint ventures in China sold 623,546 vehicles in the first three months of the year, up 71 percent.
--Associated Press
(Associated Press)
Motorcycle thefts down in 2009
Motorcycle thefts dropped 13 percent year over year in 2009, according to a recent report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). A total of 56,093 motorcycles were reported stolen to law enforcement in 2009. The top five makes stolen last year were: 1. Honda, 13,688; 2. Yamaha, 11,148; 3. Suzuki, 9,154; 4. Kawasaki, 5,911; and 5. Harley-Davidson, 3,529.
--NWautos staff
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