China's Feb Vehicle Sales Rise More than 46%

BEIJING, Mar. 10 -- China's vehicle sales jumped 46.3% year on year to 1.21 million units in February, according to figures released by the official China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

In January, the country sold 1.66 million vehicles, according to CAAM.

Sales of passenger cars increased 45.9% year on year to 623,100 units in February. Sales grew only 33% the previous month due to the Chinese New Year holiday.

During the past year, China overtook the U.S. as the world's largest auto market. The country's auto sales soared 46% to 13.6 million units. The strong sales were partly due to stimulus policies to boost auto demand.  

However, growth in vehicle sales may slow in 2010 because of the large base last year.