Forging ahead: the skyline of the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone in Wuhan, Hubei province. [Photo/WEDZ Convergence Media Center]
The Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone, or WEDZ recorded a year-on-year increase of 19.1 percent in total retail sales of consumer goods from January to August, ranking it first in the city of Wuhan for 12 consecutive months, according to the WEDZ investment promotions bureau.
The statistics from the bureau – based in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province – showed that sales by wholesale, retail, accommodation and catering businesses increased respectively by 18.3 percent, 79.6 percent, 12.1 percent and 22.3 percent.
In recent years, the development zone has seized the opportunity to lead the way for Wuhan to become an international consumption center city – and has actively cultivated an economic format for the integrated development of culture, business, tourism and sports.
This year, WEDZ-based auto manufacturers – including Dongfeng Honda, Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle, and Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile – have accelerated their launches of new products to promote regional economic development.
From January to August this year, retail sales of automobiles above a designated size in the region came in at 6.86 billion yuan ($967 million), a year-on-year increase of 202 percent. Of that, retail sales of new energy vehicles soared to 4.21 billion yuan, a massive increase of 2,387 percent.
