China's passenger car sales rose 21 percent in October, as a surging stock market boosted consumers' wealth in the world's second-largest vehicle market.

Drivers bought 496,900 cars last month, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in an e-mailed statement on Friday. Total vehicle sales, including trucks and buses, rose 20 percent to 692,300.

Automakers led by China FAW Group Corp and SAIC Motor Corp, a partner of Volkswagen AG and General Motors Corp, have boosted sales in China because of economic growth. The benchmark CSI 300 Index has also more than doubled this year, fueling demand as many Chinese stock-market investors buy new cars with their profits.