China39;s car sales rise 11.2 in Oct, fastest since Jan
Domestic champion BYD leads the rise
Rapid growth buoyed by government subsidies

BEIJING, Nov 8 Reuters China39;s passenger vehicle sales jumped 11.2 in October yearonyear, the second straight monthly rise and the fastest growth since January, led by domestic champion BYD as automakers raced to meet annual sales targets.

Sales in the world39;s largest auto market totalled 2.28 million vehicles last month and increased 3 to 17.99 million for the first 10 months of the year, data from the China Passenger Car Association CPCA showed on Friday.

October39;s growth was the highest since January39;s 57.1 gain.

Helped by government subsidies of up to 2,800 apiece for trading in older cars for EVs and more fuelefficient cars, which CPCA secretarygeneral Cui Dongshu expects to continue into 2025, greener cars continue to be a standout despite a faltering economy.

China39;s car sales will likely to see an annual rise of 5 in 2024, Cui said.

Electric vehicle and plugin hybrid sales grew by 56.7 from the prior year and made up 52.5 of overall sales, marking the fourth consecutive month that batterypowered cars including plugins outsold gasoline cars in the country.

BYD hit another monthly record with sales topping the 500,000 benchmark for the first time in October. It beat Tesla in revenue terms in the third quarter, albeit still trailing the U.S. automaker as measured by EV sales.

The biggest Chinese rival to Tesla…