BEIJING: Auto sales in China surged 22.4 percent year-on-year to 1.94 million units in February, despite a higher purchase tax, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed Friday. The growth was compared with 0.2 percent growth in January and 13.7 percent in 2016. In the first two months, auto sales climbed 8.8 percent on the same period last year, according to CAAM statistics. In October 2015, China slashed purchase tax on cars with engines of 1.6 liters or below to 5 percent from 10 percent, propping up sales to a record high of 28.03 million in 2016.
The tax was raised to 7.5 percent this year and will rise to 10 percent again in 2018. The February sales figure included sales of passenger cars, which rose 18.3 percent year on year to 1.63 million units last month. New energy vehicle production and sales increased 15.5 percent and 30.3 percent, respectively, to 1.8 million units and 1.76 million units in February.
