Chinese car sales up by a quarter

China overtook the US as the world's top seller of cars in January

Sales of new cars in China jumped by a quarter in February as government measures to help carmakers countered the global downturn in auto sales.

The month's sales totalled 827,000 vehicles, a 25% increase on the same month last year and a 12% increase on the number sold in January.

China slashed sales tax on small-engined passenger cars to try and boost sales of fuel efficient vehicles.

More cars are sold in China than in any other country in the world.

"The forecast is that the situation in March will be even better than February," said Xiong Chaulin, at the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the body that released the sales figures.

The figures were released on the same day that China announced a 25% fall in exports.

China is attempting to boost domestic demand to compensate for lost export sales.