Beijing said Thursday US auto makers including General Motors had dumped vehicles in the Chinese market or enjoyed unfair subsidies -- but it stopped short of taking action against the companies.

"Sedans and off-road vehicles of a cylinder capacity of above 2.5 litres that were manufactured in and imported from the United States were dumped in China and received subsidies," the commerce ministry said.

The domestic industry making similar cars therefore "suffered substantial damages", the ministry said in a statement.

The investigation -- launched in November 2009 -- found several US auto makers including General Motors and Chrysler Group were selling vehicles in China at prices up to 21.5 percent below their market value.

The companies also received subsidies of up to 12.9 percent, it found.

China will not levy anti-dumping duties or countervailing taxes on the vehicles for the time being, the ministry said, without elaborating.

No one at GM or Chrysler was immediately available to comment.

earlier related report
Swedish embassy in Beijing doubts Saab saviour: report
Stockholm (AFP) May 5, 2011 - Saab's new partner Hawtai has inflated its production figures and changed chief executives numerous times over the past years, the Swedish embassy in Beijing warned in an internal report quoted by a Swedish daily on Thursday.

"According to the embassy's experience (Hawtai's) official figures may be exaggerated," Sweden's ambassador to China Lars Freden wrote in a report to the foreign ministry obtained by the Svenska Dagbladet (Svd) daily.

In a deal unveiled on Tuesday, Hawtai is set to inject 150 million euros ($223 million) into Saab through a partnership including joint ventures in manufacturing, technology and distribution.

Hawtai said it produced 81,000 cars last year and said it has the capacity to make 200,000 cars a year.

SvD said its own sources put Hawtai's production figure for last year at 60,000 cars.

The embassy's report also said although Hawtai has existed for 10 years, it has produced cars for only about a year.

It added Hawtai's parent company, Hengtong Group, derives most of its profits from mining, energy, telecommunications, infrastructure, banking and real estate.

"According to the embassy's source, Hawtai's financial strength comes from mining rather than carmaking," the report said, according to SvD, adding that "Hawtai has changed chief executive six times over the past eight years."

"Technology transfer is central to Hawtai's interest in Saab. For Saab's long-term competitiveness it is reasonably important that the company keep its integrity," ambassador Lars Freden wrote in the report.

Tuesday's deal, which plans for Hawtai to take a 29.9 percent stake in Saab's Dutch owner Spyker, came as a last minute lifeline for the cash-strapped Swedish brand.

Saab halted production almost a month ago as suppliers halted deliveries over unpaid bills.

Swedish media reported that a Hawtai delegation visited Saab's plant in Trollheattan, in western Sweden. Production has not been restarted but Saab was to test-produce 15 to 20 cars Thursday.