According to the statistics newly released by China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the sales volume of city buses in China totaled 11,200 units in the first four months of 2009, down by 28.79% y/y. As an important segment of the commercial vehicle industry, the city bus market was predicted to act as a driving force amid the financial crisis for the whole industry at the end of 2008. However, till now the city bus market has failed to live up to people’s high expectations.

XIONG Chuanlin, Deputy Secretary of CAAM believes that the sharp decline of the sales of city buses has a lot to do with the absence of strong financial supports from the government. As a government-backed non-profit organization, CAAM has already made calls for stronger supports from the government on behalf of bus & coach builders and further handed in its suggestions, which include adjustment of taxes on buying buses.

SHE Zhenqing, the chief-analyst of HTTP://WWW.ZTAUTO.COM pointed out China’s bus & coach industry is now faced with a bleak export market. If the domestic demand is not strong enough, the whole industry will encounter unthinkable direr situations in the foreseeable future.

In face of the uncertainties, many bus builders, including Dandong Huanghai, Ankai Bus and Zhongtong Bus, have expressed their belief that a reform of taxes on buying buses will help cut customers’ purchasing costs and stimulate the consumption of buses for public transport. Given that a sound public transport system is yet to be built in a host of second- and third-layer cities and counties in China, the exemption from taxes on buying buses is expected provide strong incentives for some cash-strapped local governments to run swiftly to bus showrooms.

However, some experts cast their doubts about the real effects of removing taxes on buying buses. WANG Jian, a bus & coach expert, believes that the reform of taxes on buying buses will have little impact on the bus market still under monopoly. SHE Zhenqing also expressed his preference to remove taxes on buying buses that are to serve people in rural areas.

Given above, as it is an undisputable fact that the sales of buses & coaches are still plummeting, the industry is currently in a desperate need for some new favorable policies that can be well implemented.

Source : english.chinabuses.com

Editor : Mark

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