BEIJING, Feb. 17 -- China's auto industry witnessed a steady start to the year, with both production and sales posting year-on-year increases in January, industry data showed on Monday.

Total auto output reached 2.15 million units last month, up 3.3 percent year on year, while sales grew 0.8 percent year on year to top 2.13 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

New energy vehicles performed strongly, with sales surging 29.4 percent year on year to 944,000 units in January -- accounting for 38.9 percent of total new vehicle sales last month.