China's passenger car sales down, but new energy sector thrives

BEIJING - China's passenger car production declined 4.1 percent year-on-year in October while sales fell 13.9 percent from a year earlier, data from an industry association showed Monday.

Bucking the trend, the country's sales of new energy passenger vehicles soared 141.1 percent year-on-year to 321,000 units in October, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

During the first 10 months, sales of new energy passenger cars skyrocketed 191.9 percent from a year earlier to 2.14 million units.

The market performance of new energy cars and petrol vehicles took diverging paths, with the former continuing to see explosive growth, said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the association.

China's leading new energy vehicle manufacturer BYD remained the most popular brand among buyers, with its car wholesales reaching 80,373 units last month.

Tesla China sold 54,391 vehicles in October, and its exports reached 40,666 units, data from the association showed.

In 2022, China's wholesales for passenger cars will likely grow 5 percent, the association said.