China’s car sales more than double in January

China’s passenger car sales reached 1.32 million units in January, more than double the amount from a year ago, Bloomberg reported. Total vehicle sales, which include buses and trucks, also more than doubled to a record 1.66 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The extension of purchase incentives introduced last year is believed to have helped sustain demand, although Beijing has since announced plans to scale back the measures. The 5% sales tax on new vehicles with engines of 1.6 liters or less – reduced from 10% last year – is set to increase to 7.5%. Nothing has been said about the future of the US$732 million package for consumers trading in old autos or the subsidies offered to rural residents keen to buy vehicles. Ricon Xia, an analyst at the Daiwa Institute of Research, expects full-year sales to expand by 15% this year, well down on the 46% growth in sales volume of 2009.