China Sells More Cars Than U.S. in January

SHANGHAI, China -- China's auto sales overtook the U.S. in January for the first time, the country's car industry association says.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reports 735,000 vehicles were sold in January, surpassing the 656,976 vehicles sold in the U.S. market.

China is the world's second biggest auto market in terms of annual sales, and is expected to eventually overtake the U.S. as the world's biggest.

But plunging U.S. sales appear to have accelerated its ascent. Sales in the U.S. fell 37% in January to a 26-year low, while sales in China fell 14.4% from 860,000 in January 2008.

U.S. automaker General Motors(GM Quote) said auto sales fell 49% in January, while Ford(F Quote) saw sales drop 39% and Chrysler saw a 55% decline.