China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) sales extended their surge in October and maintained their near record-high share of the country’s total passenger car sales.

Sales of 714,000 NEVs in October rose by 82pc from a year earlier to a record high, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

The increase outpaced the 11pc rise in China’s total passenger car sales to 2.33mn. The pace of the increase was still the slowest in six months.

The surge in NEV sales boosted their share of car sales to more than 29pc of the total. The share was up from 18pc the same month a year ago and the second highest on record.

Battery-electric-vehicle cars accounted for almost 22pc of total car sales in October. The share was up from around 15pc the same month a year ago.

China in September extended to end-2023 an exemption of the purchase tax on NEVs in a bid to sustain their strong sales growth.

China’s lubricating oil demand slumped this year even as the country’s car sales rose by 14pc in the first ten months of the year.