China’s new-vehicle sales kept ticking up at a double-digit pace for the second straight month in October, according to a preliminary tally released Thursday by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
The association estimates that automakers delivered more than 2.54 million new vehicles last month, rising 11 percent from a year earlier.
Sales of new light vehicles including sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multipurpose vehicles and minibuses rose 7.3 percent. Demand for new commercial vehicles including trucks and buses jumped nearly 28 percent, the group estimates.
In the first 10 months, new-vehicle sales across China dropped 4.8 percent to some 19.66 million, according to association estimates, with light-vehicle demand falling 10 percent and commercial vehicle deliveries surging 21 percent.
The industry group didn’t break down sales volumes for commercial vehicles or light vehicles for October or the first 10 months. It is expected to reveal those numbers next week.
After the severe contraction in the first quarter triggered by the coronavirus outbreak, the new-vehicle market in China has maintained growth since April.