China's vehicle sales up 13.8% in October

BEIJING - China's vehicle sales rose 13.8 percent year-on-year to 2.85 million units in October, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed Friday.

China's auto sales boom continued in October as a series of auto shows and promotion activities helped boost consumption, said Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the association, adding that recent new model launches by some carmakers also helped to increase their sales.

During the first ten months of 2023, vehicle production and sales grew 8 percent and 9.1 percent year-on-year, respectively, Chen noted.

Friday's data also revealed that the production and sales of new energy vehicles surged 33.9 percent and 37.8 percent, respectively, in the January-October period. New energy vehicle exports nearly doubled compared with a year earlier to reach 995,000 units.

Chen said auto consumption is expected to increase further in the remaining months of the year, as a spate of pro-growth measures continue to take effect.