Gasgoo.com (Shanghai January 17) - 2011 hasn't been an especially stellar year for the Beijing automobile market. 403,500 new vehicles were sold in the city last year, while 401,000 used vehicles were sold, Beijing News reported today. The respective sales figures are 56 percent and 22.2 percent lower than last year.

The majority of joint venture branded models saw their sales in the capital drop between 50 and 60 percent, while sales of domestic own brand vehicles fell even more. 2011 sales started at a very low level in January and February, but started to recover afterwards. The last six months of the year accounted for 62 percent of all sales in 2011.

Yayuncun Automobile Trade Market General Manager Chi Yifeng believes that sales in Beijing this year will exceed those of 2011. "The market is much more stable [now]," Mr. Chi said.

In other news, China Automobile Dealers Association statistics show that fourteen new 4S dealers were added in Beijing last year, bringing the grand total to 592 outlets. The majority of the new dealers are targeted towards high-end consumers.