Sales last month rose 13.81 percent year on year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on its website.

Around 1.53 million passenger cars were sold over the months, up 16.17 percent year on year, it said, while sales of commercial vehicles rose 4.89 percent to around 365,000.

Analysts attributed the bigger-than-expected growth to strong consumer spending and surging industrial demand for cars as China's economy continues to see blistering expansion.

"General consumer spending is expected to remain strong," Xia Ping, a Shanghai-based analyst with securities firm Core Pacific-Yamaichi, told AFP.

"Sales in large heavy vehicles increased rapidly in January partly due to infrastructure construction within China and rising transportation demand amid the country's economic recovery."