BEIJING -- China's used car sales climbed 3.71 percent year-on-year in January, according to a report released by the China Passenger Car Association.

A total of 1.48 million used cars changed hands in China in the period, within which basic passenger car sales came in at 891,500 units, up 2.59 percent year-on-year, said the report.

The sales of used sports utility vehicles surged 23.87 percent year-on-year to 186,300 units, while that of second-hand multi-purpose vehicles went up 2.27 percent to 83,300 units.

In 2021, more than 17.58 million used cars changed hands in China, up 22.62 percent year-on-year, despite the challenges of the pandemic, extreme weather, lowered consumption expectations and surging risks of global supply chains, earlier data showed.