China's car output topped 18.26 million last year, an annual increase of 32.44 percent, said Zhu Yiping, associate secretary-general of the CAAM at a press conference.

Both figures underpinned China's position as the world's biggest car producer and market, Zhu said.

China's auto sales in December topped 1.67 million, up 17.9 percent year-on-year, but down 1.79 percent month-on-month.

Auto output in December stood at 1.87 million, up 22.3 percent year-on-year or 6.27 percent month-on-month.

Sales of passenger vehicles rose 33.17 percent year-on-year to 13.76 million last year, while sales of commercial vehicles were up 29.9 percent year-on-year to 4.3 million.