Most important, it did not repeat Malaysia's and Indonesia's mistake of creating a domestic carmaker that would compete with the Japanese.

The domestic carmakers are failing to attract committed import buyers or to keep their own customers from defecting.

Will it pump up the domestic carmaker's sales?

Indeed, it may take even longer for domestic Chinese construction equipment manufacturers to enter world markets than domestic carmakers.

The worst sales news came from domestic carmakers.

In a country where the economy has grown by more than 8 percent for the last three years, a number of domestic and foreign carmakers are clamoring to get a share of the market.

But many analysts said generous incentive programs by domestic carmakers, which lifted sales early in the year, could come at the expense of sales in the second half.

It is hard to imagine how domestic carmakers, few of which are profitable now, will be able to compete with cheaper, higher-quality imports.

Auto sales perked up in March, though domestic carmakers continued to lose ground to foreign competitors.

That coincided with reports that domestic carmakers stumbled through dismal sales in March.