A total of 3.1 million vehicles were sold in China in the first two months of this year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) revealed.

The figure means the country's auto sales went up 11.3 per cent during the January-February period from the same period in 2013, CAAM said.

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The figure, however, is not all rosy as domestic car makers continued to be squeezed out by foreign manufacturers in their home market.

CAAM said sales of domestic auto brands dropped 1 per cent to 1.2 million vehicles in the first two months of the year, as foreign automakers like GM, Ford, Toyota and Nissan, put up solid numbers during the period.

The association lumps together January and February sales figures because of the Lunar New Year holiday, which can fall on different days during those months.

Experts said domestic car makers in China need to upgrade their technology in order to cope up with the competition, as global automakers spend heavily on technology and research to develop models that will suit the taste of Chinese consumers.

This year's sales growth is forecast to decelerate from 15.7 per cent in 2013 to about 8 to 10 per cent. Sales grew 17 per cent in December.

Earlier, Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corp said its local joint venture sold about 51,900 automobiles in China in February, up 43.1 per cent from a year earlier.

The company's sales in the first two months of the year came to about 137,500 cars, up 26.4 per cent year-on-year.

Toyota, which operates car ventures in China with FAW Group and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co, aims to sell 1.1 million cars in the country this year, an increase of 19.9 per cent from a year earlier.