1st LD-Writethru: China's auto sales surge in October

China's automobile sales surged year on year in October while production rebounded, according to new official data.

China's automobile sales grew 11.8 percent to 2.22 million vehicles in October, while output ended previous drops by edging up 7.1 percent year on year to 2.19 million, according to the latest official data released on Wednesday.

Some 19.28 million vehicles were sold in the first ten months of 2015, 1.5 percent more than in the same period last year. Production was marginally higher on the same basis.

Sales growth in October mainly came from the growth in demand for passenger cars and new energy vehicles, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in a statement.

Passenger car sales jumped 13.3 percent year on year to 1.94 million in October, while sales of new energy cars grew five times year on year to 34,316, according to the CAAM.

Output of pure electric and plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles in October 2015 was 850 percent and 200 percent higher, respectively, than in October 2014, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Tuesday.

Exports of automobiles fell 26.5 percent year on year to 54,000 vehicles in October and dropped 17.5 percent in the first ten months of this year.

China's automobile market cooled in the early months of 2015 as a result of the economic slowdown, fierce competition and purchase limit policies in first-tier cities. Endi