China auto sales jump 56% year-on-year in March

China's auto sales continued their strong growth in March, fueled by government incentives designed to boost domestic consumption.

Auto sales in China climbed 55.79 percent from a year earlier to about 1.74 million units in March, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said Friday.

The March sales figure means first quarter sales reached 4.61 million units, up 71.78 percent year on year, according to the CAAM.

Passenger car sales rose 63.22 percent to more than 1.26 million units in March, bringing the quarterly sales figure to more than 3.52 million units, up 76.34 percent.

The Chinese government slashed the sales tax on small cars to 5 percent from 10 percent last year in a bid to boost domestic consumption amid the economic slowdown.

The policy is being partially retained in 2010, with the sales tax now at 7.5 percent.

The CAAM also said China produced more than 1.73 million units of autos in March, up 57.69 percent year on year, taking first-quarter auto output to 4.55 million units, up 76.99 percent year on year.