Stimulus boosts October car sales to jump 75%

China's passenger car sales for October jumped 75 percent from a year earlier, confirming the country's status as the world's largest car market. The surging numbers come on the heels of government incentives, that lured new buyers into the showrooms.

A total of 946 thousand passenger vehicles were sold in October. Overall vehicle sales, from trucks to buses, jumped 72 percent in October, to 1.23 million units from a year earlier. In the first 10 months of 2009, a total of 8 million passenger cars were sold, and overall vehicle sales reached 11 million.

Analysts expect the market to slow next year, if the government decides to discontinue its various incentive programs. But a report by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology suggests that the government might extend some of its existing incentives, including a purchasing tax cut for low-emission cars, as well as green energy cars.