Sales of cars in China posted a big gain in October, offering a bright spot for the still recovering global auto sector, with electric vehicles leading the growth charge, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
China saw an 8 percent jump in sales in cars, SUVs and other vehicles, rising to just less than 2 million for the month, WSJ reported, citing China Passenger Car Association (PCA). Sales of electric vehicles made the biggest gains on a proportional basis, with sales doubling to 144,000.
The October report by PCA marked the fourth straight month of increased sales in the country’s auto sector, stirring hope that a sector downturn that began two years ago may now be finally over, according to WSJ.
Overall, auto sales in China still remain 7 percent below last year’s levels, with the jolt from the pandemic at the start of the 2020 — and the vigorous lockdown measures the Chinese government took — having resulted in a slump in sales this spring, WSJ reported
Foreign auto makers like Volkswagen and Toyota Motor Corp. made sizable gains in October, with the pandemic sales plunge earlier this year having weighed heavily on auto giants that had spent billions building new plants in China, Bloomberg reported.
Electric vehicle makers, however, made some of the most impressive gains in October, and are on track to sell roughly 1.1 million electric cars by the end of 2020, according to Bloomberg, which cited the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Facing intense competition from Chinese electric vehicle makers, Tesla came in fourth in October in the number of sales, with 12,143 last month, Bloomberg reported. Tesla also made another 10,000 vehicles in its Chinese plants that it exported to other countries.
SAIC-GM Wuling Automobile Co., BYD Co., and another SAIC unit, came out ahead of Tesla in electric vehicle sales in October, according to Bloomberg.
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