Last month, industry sales of passenger cars rose 15.3 percent from a year earlier to 1.4 million units, according to China's Passenger Car Association.

"The market doesn't show a significant slump amid the negative impact," analyst Fang Quan'an of Western Securities said in an interview with Shanghai Daily. "Growth in 2011 will be more steady."

China's two largest international automakers, General Motors and Volkswagen, also enjoyed strong January sales.

Last week, GM reported that its Chinese joint ventures sold 230,000 vehicles last month, up 22% from a year earlier. And Volkswagen AG reported that its three China brands -- Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda -- generated January sales of 217,900 units, up nearly 31 percent.

VW's Czech subsidiary Skoda generated especially strong sales.

Czech automaker Skoda's sales in China jumped 40 percent to 20,500 units in January, continuing to outperform its sister brands, Volkswagen and Audi.

In 2010, Skoda sales in China topped 200,000 units, up 62 percent over the previous year. The Czech automaker first launched production in China in 2007.

Company CEO Winfried Vahland has said he wanted to boost his company's China production to 500,000 vehicles, up from 131,800 units in 2009.

Industry sales were strong in China even though the central government raised its sales tax on vehicles with an engine displacement of 1.6 liters and less. The sales tax on these vehicles has been restored to 10%, up from 7.5% in 2010.

Vehicles in that category accounted for nearly 69% of sales last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.