China's FAW says Jan vehicle sales up 47 pct

SHANGHAI, Feb 19 (Reuters) - FAW Group, a Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) partner in China, said on Tuesday its vehicle sales jumped 46.9 percent in January, little affected by severe snow storms that hit southern and central China.

FAW, which also runs a car venture with Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), sold 166,518 vehicles in January, beating its monthly target of 145,000 units, it said in a statement.

Sales of passenger cars surged 58.3 percent year-on-year to 146,294 units last month, while sales of medium- to heavy-duty trucks were up 11.6 percent at 11,263 units, it said.

Vehicle sales of FAW's domestic rival Dongfeng Motor Group Co (0489.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) grew 20 percent to 89,994 in January, although sales at Dongfeng's venture with PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) slipped as auto parts supplies were disrupted by snow storms.

China has yet to release official vehicle sales figures for January. According to the semi-official China Passenger Car Association, 639,000 passenger cars were sold in the country last month, up 32 percent from a year earlier. (Reporting by Fang Yan; Editing by Edmund Klamann)