CHINA'S passenger car sales retreated 16.5 percent in January from a year earlier as auto buyers put off purchases during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Carmakers sold a combined 1.17 million passenger cars last month, compared to 1.4 million units sold in the same month a year earlier, according to China Passenger Car Association yesterday. Production also dropped 24 percent from the same month in 2011.

The association cited the week-long holiday as the major factor. Overall car sales dropped 15 percent last month, against the 9 percent decrease for sport-utility vehicle and 22 percent fall for multi-purpose vehicles. Deliveries of minivans slumped 24 percent from a year earlier.

Rao Da, the association's secretary general, expects a 30-percent rebound in February sales on an annual basis. "But it (the rebound) is not likely to exceed the sales volume of January," he noted.

The slowdown in purchases has affected major carmakers in China.

General Motors said its China deliveries declined 8 percent annually in January to 246,654 units.

Toyota and its Chinese joint ventures sold 25 percent fewer vehicles at 59,000 units.