SAIC October auto sales up 28.8% to 309,501 vehicles

Top Chinese automaker SAIC Motor Corp (600104.SS) in October sold 28.8 percent more vehicles than a year earlier, extending a rebound from August bolstered by the peak auto sales season.

SAIC, which runs vehicle manufacturing ventures with General Motors [GM.UL] and Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), sold 309,501 vehicles last month, it said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Friday.

That marks an improvement from September when it sold 324,831 vehicles, up 23.3 percent from a year earlier, company data showed.

"SAIC's October data is pretty strong and sales may stay solid in November and December as many people might want to take advantage of government policy incentives before they expire at the end of the year," said Chen Liang, an analyst with Huatai Securities.

Beijing had in 2009 unveiled tax incentives for cars with engine sizes of 1.6 litres or lower, a move which helped China surpass the United States as the world's largest auto market that year.

In October, SAIC's car venture with GM sold 100,833 vehicles, was up 47.2 percent from a year earlier. Sales at its tie-up with Volkswagen rose 45.3 percent to 92,100 units, the data showed.

Sales of SAIC's own-brand cars, including the popular Roewe 550, went up 37.5 to 11,222 units, it added.