BEIJING, January 10, 2011 (AFP) - Auto sales in China rose more than 32 percent in 2010 to 18.06 million units, an industry group said Monday -- a new record for the world's largest car market.

Sales in December rose 17.9 percent from a year earlier to 1.67 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in a statement.

China overtook the United States in 2009 to become the world's largest car market and is a key market for foreign manufacturers. GM, Ford and Volkswagen all posted record sales in the country last year.

"The strong growth... was due to both policy incentives and frontloaded consumption as consumers were concerned about the withdrawal of policies," CAAM said.

Beijing introduced stimulus policies aimed at supporting the auto market during the global financial crisis. Consumers worried authorities would scrap these measures this year snapped up cars in 2010.

CAAM forecast sales and production would grow at a steadier pace in 2011, by between 10 and 15 percent, after the government raised the purchase tax for small cars to 10 percent and Beijing slashed the number of new registrations allowed in the capital this year.