Apr. 13, 2012 (China Knowledge) - China, the world's largest auto market, saw its vehicle sales rise 1.02% year on year or 17.33% month on month to 1.84 million units last month, reflecting the highest March sales on record, according to statistics released by the China Association of Auto Manufacturers (CAAM).

In March, the country's sales of passenger cars grew 4.54% year on year or 15.40% month on month to 1.4 million units, and its sales of commercial vehicles was 438,600 units, up 23.92% from February but down 8.80% year on year.

In the first quarter of this year, the country's auto sales totaled 4.79 million units, down 3.40% from the same period of last year. The sales of passenger cars and commercial vehicles were 3.77 million units and 1.02 million units, down 1.25% and 10.60% year on year, respectively.

Last month, China produced 1.88 million vehicles, 16.90% more than in February and 3.38% more than in the same month of 2011. The country's auto output amounted to 4.78 million units in the first quarter, down 1.83% year on year.

The CAAM said that the country is more likely to see positive growth in auto sales this year.