Asian Motors Vehicle sales in Asia's main markets expanded by close to 50% in the first quarter of 2010 to an estimated 9.5 million units, albeit compared with very depressed year-earlier levels - when the recent global financial crisis was at its peak.

Leading the automotive sector recovery were emerging markets such as China, India, Indonesia and Thailand, although mature markets such as Japan and South Korea also reported unexpectedly high rates of growth

Economic growth has been very strong across the region in recent months, helped by a sharp recovery in exports – particularly to China. Domestic consumption has also increased in response to historically-low interest rates in most countries in the region. First-quarter GDP growth in China and Thailand was reported at around 12% year - on-year, while India reported 8.7% growth and Indonesia 5.7%.

Vehicle sales across the region are forecast to exceed 26.6 million units this year - 11% higher than in 2009. The rate of growth seen in the first quarter is clearly unsustainable, partly due to tougher year-on-year comparisons