SAIC, which makes cars in partnership with General Motors and Volkswagen AG, sold more than 4 million vehicles last year, up 12 percent, largely outperforming a 2.5 gain by China's overall vehicle market. It's tie-up with GM sold 18.5 percent more cars in the year, with sales at its venture with VW up 16.4 percent, according to company data. The two ventures comprised 59.8 percent of SAIC's overall tally. The acquisition of some assets from its parent, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, also helped boost earnings, SAIC said in a statement. SAIC is expected to announce full-year earnings on April 4. Many other local automakers without a strong foreign tie, including FAW Car and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co, projected declines in their 2011 earnings. FAW Car expected its 2011 earnings to plunge 50-80 percent to between 372 million yuan ($58.8 million) to 930 million yuan. Changan, a Ford Motor and Mazda Motor partner, said it expected to report a net income of 900 million yuan to 1 billion yuan, down 51-56 percent. SAIC's shares were down 0.4 percent in mid-morning trade on Tuesday as the broader index gained 0.12 percent.