BEIJING, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Sales of automakers in China climbed 34.37 percent year on year to about 1.56 million units in April, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in a statement Monday.

        However, April sales were down 10.37 percent from March, said the statement, without elaborating.

        The April figure brought the combined sales in the first four months to about 6.17 million units, up 60.51 percent year on year.

        Sales of passenger cars rose 33.21 percent to 1.11 million units, lifting the four-month sales figure to more than 4.63 million units, up 63.64 percent. However the figure for April fell 12.18 percent from March.

        The Chinese government slashed the sales tax on small cars to 5 percent from 10 percent last year in a bid to boost domestic consumption.

        This year, the sales tax has been set at 7.5 percent.

        The CAAM statement said Chinese automakers produced more than 1.56 million vehicles in April, up 34.61 percent year on year, taking the output for the first four months to about 6.12 million units, up 63.8 percent.