Car Sales Rise 10% in China

Surging demand for SUVs and minivans pushed passenger vehicle sales in China to 2.07 million units last month from 1.90 million in January 2014, according to the China Passenger Car Assn.

CPCA say January deliveries of SUVs jumped 62%. Minivan volume climbed 22%. Sales of conventional sedans were flat.

Analysts expect China's full-year passenger vehicle sales will expand about 7% in 2015, half the pace two years ago. That rate would raise new-car sales to 25.1 million this year from 23.5 million in 2014, says the China Assn. of Automobile Manufacturers.

China's auto industry anticipates several years of more subdued increases after scrambling to keep pace with decades of double-digit expansion. The country's central government says it intends to establish a "new normal" pace for sustainable economic growth.