Sales of automobiles in China totaled 715,700 units in October, up 3.37 pct from a year earlier, the semi-official China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said.

Output for the month was 704,900 vehicles, down 1.15 pct year-on-year, the association said in a statement.

Passenger vehicle sales for the month rose 8.36 pct year-on-year to 538,500 units, while commercial vehicle sales fell 9.3 pct to 177,200 units, according to CAAM.

The association said that in the first 10 months, vehicle sales totaled 7.94 mln, up 11.1 pct from a year earlier.

Sales of passenger vehicles rose 11.1 pct from a year earlier to 5.64 mln during the January-October period, with commercial vehicle sales increasing 11.22 pct to 2.3 mln.