China's auto sales rose 7.9 per cent in May from a year earlier as purchases of electric and gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles more than doubled to 102,000.
An industry group, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said today that sales of SUVs, sedans and mini vans rose to 1.9 million. Total vehicle sales, including trucks and buses, rose 9.6 per cent to 2.3 million.
The group said sales from January through May rose 5.1 per cent to 9.9 million, rebounding from 2017's annual growth of just 1.4 per cent.
Sales of electric and gasoline-electric hybrids rose 126 per cent. Beijing has spent heavily to transform China into the world's biggest electric car market and is preparing to enforce sales quotas to press global auto makers to speed up development.