China's auto sales rebound in September

A Mazda Cx-5 is seen in production inside the Changan Mazda factory in Nanjing, Jiangsu, July 6, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING - China's automobile sales saw a rebound in September thanks to the government's stimulus policies to revive the industry, a report showed Tuesday.

Auto sales increased 2.1 percent to 2.02 million, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in a statement.

Auto production, however, dropped 5.6 percent year on year to 1.89 million last month, according to CAAM.

During the Jan - Sept period, auto sales rose 0.3 percent to 17.06 million and auto production fell 0.8 percent to 17.09 million.

The association attributed the sales rebound in September mainly to the growth in passenger car and new energy vehicle sales.

Passenger car sales jumped 3.3 percent to 1.75 million in September, while sales of business cars dropped 4.9 percent to 273,600 year on year, said CAAM.

New energy vehicles -- pure electric and hybrid electric cars -- outperformed their peers last month, registering 210- and 220-percent growth year on year both in output and sales to reach 28,324 and 28,092, respectively.

China's automobile market has been cooling since 2015 as a result of economic slowdown, fierce competition and purchase quota policies in first-tier cities.

Amid worsening air quality, the government has rolled out measures including tax redemptions, price subsidies and free number plates to promote new energy vehicles.

Several other measures to revive the automobile industry also included supporting new energy car sales and development of power batteries, forbidding local governments to set limits on electric car purchase and ensuring proportions of electricity powered buses.

Xu Minfeng, an analyst of the car industry at Central China Securities,believes the stimulating measures will likely boost China's car demand in 2015 and 2016, helping many wait-and-see buyers to make the decision to take action.