China's Dongfeng Motor says sales up 20 pct in Jan

SHANGHAI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - China's Dongfeng Motor Group Co (0489.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said it recorded 20 percent growth in vehicle sales in January, although sales at its venture with PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) had slipped as auto parts supplies were disrupted by snow storms.

Dongfeng, China's third-largest automaker, sold 89,994 vehicles in January, up from 75,004 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement released at the weekend.

Sales of passenger cars grew 22.73 percent year on year to 64,560 units last month, while sales of commercial vehicles were up 13.5 percent at 25,434 units, it said.

However, Dongfeng's venture with PSA Peugeot Citroen moved just 18,341 cars, down 9.76 percent from a year earlier, as fierce weather hit much of southern and eastern China last month and delayed supply of auto parts, it said.

The French car maker's China spokesman said last month that production at its factory in the central city of Wuhan had been disrupted briefly, but lost production volume could be made up at weekend shifts.

At Dongfeng's venture with Nissan Motor (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), car sales grew 36.82 percent to 31,851 units in January. Sales of commercial vehicles rose 12.51 percent to 24,844 units, Dongfeng said.

Sales at Dongfeng's tie-up with Honda Motor (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) surged 59.64 percent in January to 14,368 units, it said, without giving details.

China has yet to release its official vehicle sales 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 Anne Marie Roantree)