Industry-wide auto sales in China increased by 72 per cent on a year-on-year basis last month, according to new figures released on Monday (9th November).

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers confirmed that 1.23 million units were sold as consumers responded to lower vehicle taxes and subsidies in rural areas.

Passenger car sales increased by 76 per cent in October, while overall industry sales increased by 78 per cent to 10.9 million in the first ten months of the year.

"It's a strong year for auto sales and growth will continue next year," Yale Zhang, a Shanghai-based Director at auto consulting company CSM Asia, told Bloomberg.

"The government will probably continue stimulus measures that are scheduled to expire at the end of this year."

General Motors (GM), which is the largest automaker in China, enjoyed a particularly strong month in the country, increasing its sales by almost 200 per cent to 166,911 units.

Toyota is expecting its full-year sales to rise by 19 per cent to 700,000 vehicles, while Honda has attributed the trebling of its 2009 income estimate to strong Chinese sales.

Meanwhile, in the US - which has been overtaken as the world's largest auto market by China - sales of cars and light trucks were stable at just over 838,000 units on a year-on-year basis.

According to Autodata Corporation, the total was a monthly rise of 12 per cent and translated to 10.5 million units when projected for an entire year, compared to 9.2 million in September.

The majority of analysts were encouraged by the performance, particularly as a lengthy hangover is expected after the recent conclusion of the popular 'Cash for Clunkers' programme.

Truecar.com Analyst Jesse Toprak told Reuters: "In a nutshell, we can tell with confidence that we've seen the worst already past and we are seeing relative improvements in the market place and consumer demand."

There was cause for celebration for GM, which saw its US sales increase by three per cent, representing its first monthly improvement in the country for almost two years.

Ford posted a three per cent sales rise, while Toyota, the world's largest automaker, recorded a marginal gain - both of which exceeded commentators' predictions.

However, Chrysler - which has received a five-year turnaround plan from Fiat SpA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne - endured a torrid month, with sales slumping by 30 per cent.

"Clearly we're seeing improvement in the economy and in the industry," Mike DiGiovanni, GM's Executive Director of Global Market and Industry Analysis, told the Associated Press.

"It isn't huge, but it's a good sign given that Cash for Clunkers is over."

Of the other major automakers operating in the US, Hyundai posted a sales increase of 49 per cent to 31,005 units, while Nissan recorded a rise of 5.6 per cent.

Moving to Europe, the VDIK foreign carmakers' association revealed that the new auto market in Germany increased by 21 per cent last month, according to Reuters.

Although the country's scrappage scheme ran out at the start of September, experts believe it will continue to boost sales as there is a backlog of deliveries for cars bought under the initiative.

In France, auto sales rose by 20 per cent to 210,410 in October - representing the sixth consecutive improvement - and by 4.2 per cent to 1.82 million in the first ten months of the year.

Fuel-efficient vehicles welcomed the majority of the demand, with consumers eager to capitalise on scrappage incentives and environmental bonus-and-penalty payments.

The Italian transport ministry confirmed that new car registrations increased by 15.7 per cent to 195,545 units, with Reuters claiming that Fiat saw a 15.1 per cent rise in sales of its three leading brands.

New figures from the Association of European Business (AEB) revealed that new car sales in Russia slumped by 52 per cent on an annual basis during the month - the same decline as in September.

Furthermore, the data showed that sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles in the first ten months of 2009 decreased by 51 per cent (or 1.26 million units).

"These statistics give further indication that the market has stabilised, but at a hugely reduced level compared to last year," said David Thomas, Chairman of the AEB automobile manufacturers' committee.

Meanwhile, the UK enjoyed its biggest sales rise of the year to date in October, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

A total of 168,942 car sales were recorded - representing a 31.6 per cent leap from the equivalent month last year - with the country's scrappage scheme accounting for over 20 per cent of the transactions.

However, this news was tempered by the revelation that sales in the first ten months of the year reached just 1,685,981 units, which is 12.3 per cent lower than at the end of October 2008.

In addition, the monthly total was still some 367,929 registrations less than the figure recorded for September.

"We have seen additional demand created by the extension of the scheme and customers wanting to avoid the VAT increase planned for January," said SMMT Chief Executive Paul Everitt.

"Encouragingly, there has also been an increase in demand in the fleet and business sectors, which will be critical in sustaining recovery next year."

In India, a host of automakers posted encouraging sales figures for October as consumers flocked to showrooms during the country's festive season.

Maruti Suzuki saw sales increase by 21 per cent from 12 months earlier to 71,551 units, Hyundai recorded a rise of 41.4 per cent and Tata Motors witnessed a jump of 17.6 per cent.

Homegrown firm Mahindra & Mahindra logged domestic sales of 18,410 utility vehicles - representing a 32.1 per cent leap - with GM India seeing a 14.7 per cent rise and Ford India posting a 98.2 per cent improvement to 3,458 units.

Elsewhere, auto sales slumped by 16.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis in South Africa, representing the smallest decline since April 2008 as the country's economy begins to recover.

According to figures from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, 31,622 units were sold, following a 22.4 per cent annual decrease in September.

Moving to Brazil, national automakers' association Anfavea confirmed that sales were down by 4.6 per cent from the previous month but 23.1 per cent higher than in October 2008.

Finally, in Mexico - which is a major supplier of cars to the US - exports declined by 13 per cent on a year-on-year basis, the Mexican Automotive Industry Association revealed.

However, the monthly export volume showed an improvement by reaching its highest level since late last year, while production was up 26 per cent from September.

Sources:

China's October Passenger-Car Sales Rise on Stimulus (09/11/09)

U.S. October auto sales seen up, but no sign of recovery (30/10/09)

GM sees October sales bounce, Chrysler plunges (03/11/09)

Auto sales show industry beginning to stabilize (03/11/09)

German Oct new car sales up around 21 pct- source (03/11/09)

French Car Sales Jump 20% in October, Sixth Straight Increase (02/11/09)

Italy Oct car sales up 15.69 pct-ministry (02/11/09)

Sharp increase in new car sales (05/11/09)

Scrappage scheme boost continues as new car sales up 31% on last year (05/11/09)

Car sales zoom in Oct on festive demand; bikes follow suit (02/11/09)

S. African Vehicle Sales Fall at Slowest Pace Since April 2008 (03/11/09)

Mexico auto output, exports show recovery in Oct (10/11/09)

Association of European Businesses: Car sales in Russia drop 52 pct in Oct yr/yr (09/11/09)

Brazil October Car Sales Below September But Still High (03/11/09)

Brazil Oct auto output rises, reverses Sept slump (09/11/09)

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