China's auto sales grew at their fastest rate in eight months in September as Japanese brands rebounded from a slump sparked by political tensions with Tokyo.
Sales of passenger vehicles rose 21.1 percent to 1.6 million vehicles, up from August's 10 percent growth, an industry group, the China Association of Auto Manufacturers, said Friday.
China is the world's biggest auto market by number of vehicles sold and sales growth still is stronger than in Western markets despite decelerating over the past year.
Japanese automakers had especially strong growth in September following a year-long slump as tensions between Beijing and Tokyo over a territorial dispute kept buyers away from showrooms.
Nissan Motor Co.'s monthly sales soared 83.4 percent to 117,100 vehicles, accelerating from 2 percent growth for the first nine months of the year. Toyota Motor Corp. said sales jumped 63.5 percent over the same month last year after declining by 0.5 percent in January-September.
