China's auto industry picks up

China's automobile sales and output posted faster year-on-year growth in October, according to official data released Monday. Sales climbed 20.3 percent in October year on year to 1.93 million units, up slightly from a growth of 19.7 percent in September, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturing (CAAM) said in a statement. Production of automobiles rose 20.7 percent in October to 1.92 million units, faster than 16 percent seen in September, the statement said. In the first 10 months, auto sales in China rose 13.5 percent to 17.8 million units, while total output increased 13.6 percent to 17.8 million units, both faster than in the first nine months of this year. The strong growth in October was mainly driven by passenger vehicles, CAAM said. The sales and production of passenger cars in October rose 23.6 percent and 24.3 percent. The sales of Chinese brands stood at 5.8 million units in the first ten months, representing 40 percent of the total passenger car sales. CAAM also said that auto exports in October came out of year-on-year declines for the previous five consecutive months. Exports in October rose 3.3 percent from a year earlier to 89,500 units. Total export in the first 10 months dropped 7.5 percent year on year to 806,200 units, narrowing 1.3 percentage points from the first nine months. China remains the world's largest auto market and producer for the fourth consecutive year in 2012, with sales and production at 19.31 million and 19.27 million units, respectively.