Car sales surged in August

China sold 2.07 million vehicles in August, surging 24.2 percent year-on-year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The performance drove the total sales in the first eight months to 16.75 million units, an 11.43 percent growth year-on-year.

Of them, passenger car sales hit 14.44 million units, up 12.83 percent from the same period last year.

Chen Shihua, the association's deputy secretary-general, attributed the decent growth to mainly the favorable policy for cars with engines less than 1.6 liters.

The policy introduced in late September last year halved the purchase tax on cars with engines no larger than 1.6 liters. In most cases the tax is 10 percent of a car's sticker price.

From January to August, sales of such cars reached 10.4 million units, a 19.4 percent growth year-on-year, the association's statistics show.