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| An automobile assembly line in Shanghai |
In the 1990s, as one of the country's pillar industries, the auto industry developed steadily, and the output of automobiles increased from 1.45 million in 1995 to 2.07 million in 2000, with an average annual growth rate of 7.33 percent, including the output of cars, which increased from 323,000 in 1995 to 607,000 in 2000, with an average annual growth rate of 19.17 percent. The number of privately-owned automobiles increased from 2.5 million in 1995 to 6.26 million in 2000, with an average annual growth rate of 20 percent, of which the number of passenger cars increased from 1.14 million to 3.65 million, with an average annual growth rate of 26.2 percent. In 2001, the output of automobiles in China was 2.334 million, increasing 12.8 percent over the previous year.