Dongfeng April vehicle sales rise 19%

SHANGHAI, May 6 (Reuters) - Dongfeng Motor Group Co's vehicle sales in China rose 18.8 percent in April from a year earlier, the company said.

Dongfeng, China's third-largest automaker, sold 106,623 vehicles in April, up from 89,766 a year earlier, it said in a statement released late on Monday.

Sales of passenger cars grew 6.9 percent to 62,325 units last month, while sales of commercial vehicles were up 40.8 percent at 44,298 units, it said.

From January to April, its vehicle sales rose 26.8 percent to 383,582 units. Passenger car sales rose 22.7 percent to 242,475 units, with sales of commercial vehicles up 34.6 percent at 141,107 units.

Dongfeng's venture with PSA Peugeot-Citroen moved 71,307 cars from January to April, up 0.66 percent, it said.

At its venture with Nissan Motor, car sales grew 23.2 percent to 101,769 units in the first four months.

Sales at Dongfeng's tie-up with Honda Motor surged 65.9 percent during the four-month period to 55,513 units, it said.