Cars with an engine size of less than 1.6 litres accounted for 60% of Chinese car sales last year, latest industry statistics show, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday.


“The rise in sales of low-emission cars was due to high oil prices and government policies favouring small cars,” a report from the China Association of Auto Manufacture[rs] said.


China raised the price of refined oil several times last year and some cities have removed restrictions on driving routes open to small-engine vehicles in recent years.


About 328,000 cars with an engine size of below 1.0 litres were sold last year, accounting for 8.6% of total domestic sedan sales, said the report.


Cars with an engine size of between 1.0 and 1.6 litres took up about half of the total sedan sales.

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Of the 10 best-selling brands, six were economy cars, including VW’s Jetta, the Buick Excelle, Hyundai Elantra, Xiali, Cherry QQ and Cherry Cowin.


China’s car sales rose 37% to 3.83m last year.

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