A total of 14.68 million passenger vehicles were sold in China last year, bjd.com.cn reported today. The figure, which comes from the China Passenger Car Association, represents year-on-year growth of 6.8 percent.

SUVs remained the fastest growing passenger automobile segment last year, with their sales increasing 21.8 percent. A total of 1.84 million SUVs were sold over the course of the year. 10.17 million sedans, 2.15 million microvans and 513,000 minivans were sold, with thier year-on-year growth rates being 6.2 percent, 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

1.56 million passenger automobiles were sold in December alone, marking a new monthly record for the country. Sales in the first three weeks of the month were especially strong. Poor sales in the final week of the year were attributed to manufacturers not reporting their last sales of the year in order to boost January's results. Combined with highway toll exemptions for the Spring Festival and the fact that many potential buyers will be receiving annual bonuses from their jobs, January's sales are expected to be very high, with CPCA Secretary General Rao Da predicting year-on-year growth to be around 30 percent.