China produced 2.19 million vehicles in the first quarter, up 22.6% from the same period last year. That included about 1.58 million passenger cars—including sedans, sport utility vehicles (SUV) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV)—and 614,500 commercial vehicles including buses and trucks.

Auto sales in China during the quarter rose 22.2% to 2.12 million vehicles. In 2006, China surpassed Japan to become the world’s second-largest market for new vehicles, with sales of 7.22 million units.