Passenger-car sales in China almost doubled in November as government incentives continued to lure customers into showrooms.

Figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers revealed that sales of cars, sport-utility vehicles and minivans jumped by 98 per cent to 1.04 million units.

As a result, overall sales for the first 11 months of the year have increased by 42 per cent to 12.2 million, with 9.23 million passenger cars being sold - a leap of 49.7 per cent.

A similarly strong performance was recorded in India - another of the fast-growing Asian auto markets - where sales rose by 61 per cent on a year-on-year basis in November.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, the improvement can be attributed to the recovery of both the economy and car finance market in the country.

However, the picture was less positive in the US, where auto sales were at a seasonally-adjusted rate of 10.9 million vehicles for the second month in succession.

Most major automakers witnessed a sharp drop in month-to-month sales from October, led by Chrysler (25 per cent), General Motors (GM) (15 per cent) and Ford (ten per cent).

"Holding steady from last year isn't necessary good, but it could be worse," Jessica Caldwell, Senior Sales Analyst for industry forecaster Edmunds.com, told CNN Money.

"We're not out of the woods yet. People are still only buying cars out of necessity."

With the 'Cash for Clunkers' scheme in the US now concluded, GM revealed that it managed to sell more vehicles in China (177,339 units) than in its home market during November.

"China was once again an outstanding level of sales," GM Analyst Mike DiGiovanni told AFP.

"We're seeing the global industry clearly strengthening across the board."

Meanwhile, most major European countries enjoyed a particularly strong month, with the UK leading the way, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

A total of 158,082 cars were registered in the country, up 57.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis and taking year-to-date totals to 1.84 million, which is 8.8 per cent lower than at this point in 2008.

"The increase in new car registrations reflects the positive impact of the scrappage incentive scheme, customers avoiding the VAT increase in January and the very difficult conditions we experienced a year ago," said SMMT Chief Executive Paul Everitt.

French consumers were also out in force during the month, creating a 48.4 per cent rise, while Spain (37.3 per cent), Italy (30 per cent) and Germany (20 per cent) also posted gains.

Societe Generale Analyst Eric-Alain Michelis explained in an interview with Reuters that he expects December to also be an "ultra-strong" month across the continent after last year's travails.

However, the one major country which failed to see an encouraging performance was Russia, where sales fell by 46 per cent to 105,302 units from 12 months earlier.

The figures from the Association of European Businesses also revealed that Russian sales dipped by 50 per cent between January and November, although a scrappage scheme is now set to be launched.

Elsewhere, Canada saw its auto sales fall by 2.9 per cent during the month, which was smaller than previous declines but also a worse showing than predicted by analysts.

In Mexico, auto production increased by 2.9 per cent - which represented the first rise for a year - according to the Mexican Automotive Industry Association.

But with exports dropping by 2.6 per cent, the body explained that the recovery in demand from the US, which is the main recipient of Mexican vehicles, could be slow.

Finally, Brazil witnessed a decline of 14.5 per cent in auto sales in November, although year-to-date sales are up 8.4 per cent to 2.848 million units, which surpasses the total for the whole of 2008.

Sources:

China's November Passenger-Car Sales Jump 98%, Most in 5 Years (08/12/09)

Economic recovery key to sustaining car sales (01/12/09)

Ford U.S. Sales Little Changed as Economy Stabilized (01/12/09)

U.S.A.: Auto sales limp towards end of rough year (01/12/09)

Brazil Nov auto sales fall from Oct, surge vs 2008 (01/12/09)

GM's China sales speed past those in US (01/12/09)

German auto sales rise by 20% (02/12/09)

UK car sales rise by 57.6% in November (04/12/09)

India Car Sales Rise Most in 5 Years asEconomy Grows (08/12/09)

Car sales race ahead in China and India (09/12/09)

Mexico November auto output rises (09/12/09)

Canadian auto sales slip a disappointing 2.9 per cent in November (01/12/09)

New Nov car sales in Russia fall 46 pct y/y-AEB (08/12/09)

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