GM sees China auto sales slowdown in 2009

DETROIT (Reuters) - Industry-wide auto sales in China may decline as much as 10 percent in the first half of 2009 compared to a year ago before "robust growth" resumes, General Motors Corp's Asia Pacific head said on Monday.

But GM's Nick Reilly also told reporters at the Detroit Auto Show that industry auto sales in the world's second-largest market could rise slightly to 9.5 million units by the end of the entire year.

That would mark about 2 percent growth from last year's sales of 9.28 million units, as reported by China's official Xinhua News Agency.

But the forecast represents a further slowdown from the 6.7 percent growth in 2008, which followed years of double-digit sales growth.

China, the fastest-growing major auto market, has followed the U.S. market into a downturn in the second half of 2008, adding to the woes of automakers struggling with shrinking sales globally and a slowing global economy.

Auto sales in the world's largest market the United States fell 18 percent in 2008 to 13.2 million vehicles, battered by the recession, credit crunch and plunging consumer confidence.

U.S. sales, however, sank so quickly late in the year due to the economic downturn that annualized sales were running at a rate of 10.6 million units in the fourth quarter.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim, editing by Peter Bohan)