Shanghai (ZXZC)- China automobile sales are expected to reach 27.5 million units in 2022 with a 5.4% year-on-year growth, Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), said on Dec. 14 at an industrial conference.

The 2022 auto sales forecast will consist of 23 million passenger vehicles (+8% YoY) and 4.5 million commercial vehicles (-6% YoY), according to Chen's speech.

Mr. Chen noted that potential tailwinds for next year's automobile market include the positive prediction on GDP, the efficient prevention and control of the pandemics, as well as the alleviation of chip shortage.

He said China's GDP is anticipated to grow 5.5% in 2022, laying a very basic foundation for automobile industry to achieve growth.

The pandemic prevention and control will remain powerful next year. Although the first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant has been detected in China, the virus will hardly spread rapidly and widely under the governmental vigorous policies.

As the coronavirus prevention and control has become normalcy in China, the overseas car demands will still post rapid increase, while the chip supply constraint may be further mitigated next year.

Mr. Chen also mentioned the headwinds for 2022's auto market including macroeconomic pressure and the uncertain pandemic control status. The economy may continue to grow at low rate and even face fluctuation in the future due to such internal and external factors like the rise in commodity prices, the population ageing, the debt risk for real estate market, as well as the China-U.S. diplomatic relations.