China made more than half of electric car purchases in the third quarter. Electric vehicles sales surged to a record in the third quarter, largely driven by strong demand in China. Sales of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids exceeded 287,000 units in the three months ended in September, 63 per cent higher than the same quarter a year ago and up 23 per cent from the second quarter, according to a report released Tuesday by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). China