New-vehicle sales surged 32 percent in January from a year earlier, when the coronavirus outbreak emerged and the lunar Chinese New Year holiday resulted in fewer working days, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers estimates.
Some 2.5 million new vehicles were delivered across China last month, according to a preliminary tally by the trade group.
Demand for new light vehicles — sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multipurpose vehicles and minibuses — jumped 28 percent to nearly 2.1 million.
Deliveries of new commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses, soared 50 percent to approach 480,000.
In late January 2020, the virus began spreading from the central city of Wuhan to the rest of the country, eventually shutting down assembly plants and dealership showrooms as the government restricted travel.
Last year, the weeklong Chinese New Year holiday began Jan. 24. This year, the holiday starts Feb. 11.