Bookkeeping buoys numbers, but price war looms

'Cutthroat competition' could follow heady sales as govt incentives lapse

Car sales in China started off 2011 on a healthy note, with light vehicle sales in January climbing 16 percent over the same month last year to 1.8 million units.

The growth was driven by passenger vehicles, which grew 21 percent to 1.3 million units, while light commercial vehicles reported total sales of 504,000 units, an increase of 5 percent year on year.