SHANGHAI, Oct 20 (Reuters) - China stocks in the electric vehicle sector bounced off multi-year lows in early trade on Friday after EV battery giant CATL posted the weakest quarterly performance since the start of last year amid slowing demand and stiff competition.

The CSI New Energy Index opened 0.7% lower to hit a three-year low, but quickly reversed losses, trading up roughly 0.5% at 1:58 GMT.

The CSI New Energy Vehicles Index was roughly flat after touching the lowest level since October 2020.

CATL shares opened at the lowest level since April 2021 and oscillated between gains and losses in early trade.

CATL, the world's largest battery maker for EVs, said on Thursday that third-quarter profit rose 10.7%. That compared with a 63.2% increase in second-quarter profit and a 188.4% surge in the third quarter of 2022. (Reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Sohini Goswami)