Car sales rose 11.6% year-on-year to 2.8 million in January, according to statistics published by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), Caixin reports.
The fast growth took analysts and industry insiders by surprise, as many expected the auto industry to experience weak growth in 2018 due to the phasing-out of tax incentives for car purchases by the Chinese government.
However, the faster growth may be partly caused by the fact that there were three more working days this January as opposed to last year, according to Chen Shihua, an assistant to the CAAM’s General Secretary.