Last year, 180,485 motor vehicles were produced in Beijing, an increase of 34.6 percent over the previous year, and the number of vehicles sold in the city last year was 180,531, a year-on-year rise of 32.2 percent.

Automobile production and sales in Beijing ranked the fifth among the country's municipal or provincial areas in 2002, according to statistics from the Beijing Automotive Share-holding Co., Ltd..

Motor vehicles ranging from light to heavy duty trucks, cross-country jeeps, buses and sedan cars are available on the Beijing market, according to Wednesday's Beijing Star Daily.

Beijing aims to produce and sell 220,000 automobiles in 2003 and score a total output value of 20 billion yuan (US$2.41 billion) this year.

(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2003)