(Yicai) Feb. 9 -- Passenger vehicle sales in China fell last month from December because of the high comparative base caused by sales promotions at the end of last year, but were up on a year earlier.

Some 2.09 million passenger cars were sold through wholesale channels in January, down 24 percent from the previous month and up 44 percent from a year ago, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association yesterday. Chinese makers had a 61 percent market share, versus 53 percent a year ago.

Wholesales of NEVs totaled 682,000 units last month, down 39 percent from December, but up 76 percent on an annual basis, the CPCA data also showed. Among them, 404,000 were pure electric vehicles, a 47 percent drop from December and a 50 percent gain on the same period of the year before.

“Sales of pure electric cars missed expectations last month, becoming the segment facing the most pressure in China's automotive market,” CPCA Secretary-General said Cui Dongshu said. “One of the main reasons for the sluggish sales was the low temperatures recorded.”

Retail sales of passenger cars totaled 2.04 million units in January, down 14 percent from December, but up 57 percent from a year earlier, according to the CPCA’s figures. Of them, 668,000 were NEVs, a 37 percent month-on-month decline and a 102 percent year-on-year gain.

Chinese brands sold 1.12 million cars, up 77 percent from a year earlier but down 10 percent on December. They seized 52 percent of total sales, an increase of 4.6 percentage points from the same month last year.

In comparison, joint ventures between Chinese automakers and overseas traditional car manufacturers sold 670,000 units through retail channels, up 43 percent from a year earlier and down 15 percent from December. JVs with German, Japanese, and US carmakers achieved market shares of 19 percent, 17 percent, and 6.5 percent, respectively.

The price war in China's auto market will go on for a few years because of the fierce competition between established carmakers and startups, the CPCA predicted.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Futura Costaglione