BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Sales of passenger cars in China last month saw a sharp rise from a year earlier when car sales plummeted amid the COVID-19 epidemic, an industry association said.
Retail sales of passenger vehicles, including sedans, sport-utility vehicles, and multipurpose vehicles, climbed by 371.9 percent year on year to 1.18 million units in February, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed.
The figure fell by 45.5 percent in February from January, said the association.
Passenger vehicle sales in the first two months stood at 3.34 million units, representing a 69.6-percent growth rate year on year and a record rate since the CPCA began tracking retail sales in 2005. The CPCA also attributed the notable growth to the low base effect.
Luxury car sales rose by 485 percent year on year in February. Compared with the same month in 2019, it rose by 36 percent, reflecting robust growth amid China's consumption upgrades, the association added.
The production of passenger vehicles in China last month also showed a sharp increase over February 2020, which surged 472.8 percent year on year to 1.13 million units in February, data from the CPCA shows.
