Chinese auto sales rise 12.5%
Group notes October gain, says ’20 total still lagging
BEIJING — China’s sales of vehicles including trucks and buses in October rose 12.5% over a year earlier as the industry recovered from the coronavirus, but total purchases in the year’s first 10 months still were below pre-virus levels, an industry group reported Wednesday.
Sales in the biggest global auto market rose to 2.6 million in October, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. It said sales of SUVs and other passenger vehicles grew faster than overall purchases, but it gave no details.
Sales growth was down from September’s 17.4%.
In the year through October, total vehicle sales declined 4.7% from a year earlier, to 19.7 million. That was an improvement from the 6.9% contraction for the first nine months of the year.
China became the first major economy to begin the struggle to restore normal activity after the ruling Communist Party declared
victory over the coronavirus in March.
Still, the association warned that automakers face a “complex and severe” international environment and potential risks.
Auto demand already was weak before China closed factories and dealerships in February to fight the coro
navirus. Consumers are uneasy about slowing economic growth and a tariff war with Washington.
Global automakers are looking to China to propel sales growth and are spending heavily to develop electric vehicles under pressure to meet Chinese government sales quotas.