China exported 99,800 vehicles in the first quarter this year, 5.32 percent up on the same period of last year, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs.

The export of sedans (also known as saloons), or passenger cars excluding sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs), soared by 49 percent on last year to 25,000 units.

Car parts and other related exports soared 36.3 percent to a value of 8 billion U.S. dollars, while imports rose 18.5 percent to 5.4 billion U.S. dollars.

China produced 2.19 million vehicles in the first three months of the year, up 22.6 percent on the same period of 2006. This included 1.6 million passenger cars, up 23.7 percent.

At the same time, 2.1 million vehicles were sold domestically, a rise of 22.2 percent.