As prices rise, Chinese drivers ease up on the gas
August 5, 2008 | 1:09
pm
High (or at least higher) gasoline prices appear to be downshifting China's love affair with the automobile, according to a recent survey by market researcher J.D. Power Asia Pacific.
Almost 80% of respondents said they were driving less since the Chinese government in June decreed an 18% rise in gasoline prices, and 26% said they planned to put off buying a new car.
This could be bad news for U.S. automakers like General Motors, for which China has been a rare growth market lately.
Still, gas is cheaper in the Middle Kingdom — where a gallon costs the U.S. equivalent of $3.36 — than it is in California, where the going rate for a gallon of regular is $4.20.
— Martin Zimmerman
Photo: Teh Eng Koon AFP/Getty Images
