China's car sales jump in October as automakers rush to meet annual goals

Car sales in China: China's passenger vehicle sales jumped 11.2 per cent in October year-on-year, second straight monthly rise and fastest growth since January, led by domestic champion BYD as automakers raced to meet annual sales targets.

Sales in world's largest auto market totalled 2.28 million vehicles last month and increased 3 per cent to 17.99 million for first 10 months of year, data from China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Friday.

October's growth was highest since January's 57.1 per cent gain.

Helped by government subsidies of up to $2,800 apiece for tring in older cars for EVs and more fuel-efficient cars, which CPCA secretary-general Cui Dongshu expects to continue into 2025, greener cars continue to be a standout despite a faltering ecomy.

China's car sales will likely to see an annual rise of 5 per cent in 2024, Cui said.

Luxury car sales which shrank by 7 per cent year-on-year to 210,000 units last month, as well as weak sales of high-end extended-range hybrids, were proof of swings in upscale models despite robust growth in sales of entry-level EVs, he said.

Electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid sales grew by 56.7 per cent from prior year and me up 52.5 per cent of overall sales, marking fourth consecutive month that battery-powered cars including plug-ins outsold gasoline cars in country.

BYD hit ar monthly record with sales topping 500,000 benchmark for first time in October. It beat Tesla in revenue terms in third quarter, albeit still trailing US automaker as measured by EV sales.

biggest Chinese rival to Tesla has achieved 81 per cent of its revised sales target for this year, while domestic automakers Geely and Stellantis-backed Leapmotor have so far hit over 80 per cent of ir 2024 goals.

EV upstart Xiaomi, which delivered cars of over 20,000 units for first time last month, is expected to achieve its full-year target of 100,000 cars in vember.

With robust sales in its home turf where BYD sells 90 per cent of its cars, local giant is widening its le over second-placed Volkswn and third-ranked Toyota.

BYD topped China’s auto sales rankings with a 15.8 per cent share of overall market in first nine months, while its sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids accounted for more than a third of country’s total, CPCA data showed.

BYD was second only to combined sales of VW's two joint ventures in China last year.

Globally, VW's MQB A1 automobile platform, estimated to be top architecture this year, will fe over coming years, while BYD's BLP is forecast to be largest global platform in 2031, according to AutoForecast Solutions.

China's car exports slowed last month with a 13 per cent rise versus 22 per cent in October, ahe of EU's EV tariffs of up to 45.3 per cent that took effect at end-October.