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BEIJING, (AFP) Vehicle imports into China are expected to more than double next year because of tariff reductions after the country's entry to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), state press reported Monday.

At the same time, sales of domestically-made models are also anticipated to surge as local manufacturers drop prices and launch new models to compete, the China Daily quoted analysts as saying.

According to Xu Changming, an auto industry expert from China's State Information Centre, vehicle imports into China will hit 200,000 units in 2002, the report said.

In the first 10 months of this year, imports reached 64,600 and were expected to hit 70,000 by the end of 2001, the newspaper quoted industry figures as saying.

The massive increase in imports would come as tariffs for foreign-built vehicles will be slashed to 43.8-50.7 percent at the beginning of 2002 from the current 70-80 percent, said Xu.

The tariff cut comes under the terms of China's membership of the WTO, which formally began earlier this month.

Tariffs have already been cut from up to 100 percent this year, helping boost auto import figures from just 42,000 units in 2000.

Another expert cited by the newspaper, Jia Xinguang from the China Automotive Industry Development Research Institute, said imports could even reach 300,000 next year.

Also in 2002, according to the State Information Centre's Xu, the price of domestically-produced vehicles would drop by around 15 percent in response to increased competition from imports.

This would significantly boost sales of home-produced models from this year's total, expected to be around 2.4 million, he said.

"The sales in 2002 are expected to jump up to 2.7 million unit," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

This could take total vehicle sales in China next year to around three million, the report said.

Analysts have said the impact of WTO entry on China's once heavily-protected local auto industry is likely to be limited, since the top foreign brands are already present in the country through joint ventures with domestic partners.

Some experts believe the impact of WTO entry could be much bigger in the related auto component industry.

Tariff rates on auto parts, which are currently as high as 70 percent, will eventually fall to an average of 10 percent.

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