Shanghai (ZXZC)- Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd (Changan Automobile) said its auto sales in October edged down 0.9% year on year, the smallest decrease the automaker posted so far this year.

For the first ten months, the company saw total sales slump 21.5% to 1,389,897 units. However, the decrease in year-to-date sales has been continuously shrinking since May, 2019, according to the sales data of previous months.

（Photo source: Changan Ford)

Most subsidiaries suffered double-digit decline in Oct. sales. The major earning contributor Changan Ford featured a year-on-year decrease of 31.8%, versus the 36.7% drop in Sept. sales. To revive sales performance, the joint venture plans to roll out at least 18 new models, including 5 NEV models, over the next three years under the step-up cooperation between two parent companies. At the second China International Import Expo (CIIE), the joint venture just signed a contract with Ford Motor to import $741 million worth of auto parts from the latter next year.

Hefei Changan, selling 24,710 vehicles in October, boasted a remarkable year-on-year hike of 269%. In September, the Hefei-based subsidiary also clocked an impressive growth of 88.3%.

（Photo source: Changan Automobile)

Last month, sales volume of the automaker's self-developed vehicles reached 123,713 units, which happened to rise 6.6% both year on year and month on month. The year-to-date volume has exceeded 1 million units as of October, according to a statement posted on Changan's WeChat account.

（Photo source: Changan Automobile)

To be specific, Oct. sales of the CS75 and the CS35 SUVs were 25,189 units (+68.2%) and 13,338 units (+62.8%). The two hotter-selling SUV models should be accountable for the overall increase. Meanwhile, Changan Automobile also sold 7,207 CS55 SUVs and 9,123 EADO cars.