SHANGHAI--Sales of new passenger cars in China remained sluggish
by the country's standards in October, rising 6.4% from a year
earlier to 1.7 million, as the slowing economy hurt demand.
The year-over-year growth was the same as in September, which
was the weakest since February 2013, when car lots were closed for
the weeklong Spring Festival holiday.
In the first 10 months of the year, sales of new passenger
vehicles rose 9.8% to 15.86 million units, said the China
Association of Automobile Manufacturers, a government-backed
industry group.
China's economy grew at its slowest pace in five years in the
third quarter, and recent economic data -- from industrial output
and investment to house sales -- mostly point to a further
slowdown.
October is traditionally a strong month for car sales in China.
But sales of Volkswagen AG brand cars in China were flat from a
year earlier at 230,000 units, while Ford Motor Co. reported lower
car sales in October for a second consecutive month. Nissan Motor
Co. said its sales in China fell 9% in October from a year earlier
and cut its sales target for this year to 1.27 million vehicles
from more than 1.4 million.
Growth in total automobile sales, including passenger and
commercial vehicles, dropped to 2.8% in October from 20% in the
same month last year.
Write to Rose Yu at rose.yu@wsj.com
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