SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Auto sales in China, the world's biggest market, surged in January with a 30% jump from the same month a year earlier, the tenth month of gains, as China continued to lead the global automobile industry's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sales reached 2.5 million vehicles in January, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed.
Sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), including battery-powered electric vehicles, plug-in petrol-electric hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, increased 239% in January to 179,000 units.
NEV makers such as homegrown Nio (NYSE:NIO) Inc and Xpeng Inc as well as foreign groups, such as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc, are expanding manufacturing capacity in China where the government has promoted greener vehicles to reduce air pollution.