Sales of passenger vehicles in China hit a record monthly high of 285,360 in April as buyers plunged back into the market, according to figures from the China Automobile Manufacturers Association reported by domestic media Thursday.

The April figure for total passenger vehicle sales, which included cars, multipurpose vehicles and sport utility vehicles, was up 15.7 percent over April 2004 and up 7.2 percent from March, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Sales languished in the first two months of the year as buyers held back, waiting for more price cuts from automakers fighting for growth in an increasingly competitive market. But such cuts ended by March, when sales began to rebound.

Sales of passenger cars rose 18.2 percent year on year to 257,337, the report said.

"It seems that frequent price reductions and discount offers came to a temporary stop in April, which convinced some potential buyers to purchase without waiting any longer," Rao Da, secretary general of the industry group, was quoted as saying.

Chinese automakers sold 901,380 cars in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 3.2 percent, the report said.

(Shenzhen Daily May 13, 2005)