China auto sales up 2.3% in November: industry group

Auto sales in China, the world's biggest car market, expanded 2.3 percent year-on-year in November, an industry group said Wednesday, the slowest for any month this year.

The number of vehicles sold in November reached 2.09 million, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement, added that production and sales remained "relatively stable".

The figure marked a marginal improvement from 1.99 million units in October and 1.98 million units in September.

Passenger car sales rose 4.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.78 million vehicles for the month, according to the association.

Sales of all vehicles -- both commercial and passenger -- increased 6.1 percent to 21.08 million units for the first 11 months of the year, it said, compared with full-year sales of 21.98 million units for 2013.

A recovery in Japanese brands, which were hit by a political row between Tokyo and Beijing over disputed islands, helped sales last year but analysts have said slower economic growth and a government-led graft crackdown are expected to hurt 2014 sales.

Foreign brands continued to record solid sales performance due to Chinese consumers' perception of better quality.

US auto giant General Motors said its China sales jumped 10.1 percent year-on-year to 3.18 million units in the first 11 months, already surpassing its 2013 full-year sales of 3.16 million units.

Competitor Ford also reported a 20 percent surge in China sales to 1.01 million vehicles for the January-November period.