BEIJING - China's auto sales and output both accelerated in January due to stronger demand, latest data showed on Thursday, while analysts predicted the car industry will be shaken up by a national plan to upgrade fuel quality.

China's auto sales jumped 46.38 percent year on year to a record monthly high of 2.03 million units in January, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in press releases on its website.

Auto output also hit a new high last month, surging 51.17 percent year on year to 1.96 million units, the CAAM said. The rates were much higher than those of December and the year 2012, when both sales and output posted only single-digit growth year on year.

The potential of the country's auto market was further unleashed, with markedly higher demand for passenger cars, according to the CAAM.

A record high of 1.73 million passenger vehicles were sold in January, up 48.68 percent from a year earlier, CAAM figures showed.

Meanwhile, passenger car output soared 53.88 percent year on year to 1.62 million units.

The association said the fact that January of this year had five more working days than the same month of 2012 also contributed to the fast expansion.

China remained the world's largest producer and market for automobiles for the fourth consecutive year in 2012, with both sales and output exceeding 19 million units.

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