Summary Box: Holiday hits China Jan. auto sales

': Car sales in the world's biggest auto market fell 24 percent in January from a year earlier. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said that 1.16 million passenger cars were sold in January, down from a monthly record 1.5 million a year earlier.

CALENDAR CLASH: China's weeklong Lunar New Year holiday usually falls in February. It began in mid-January this year, skewing year-over-year comparisons.

DOWNSHIFT: In some ways China's auto market has mirrored the overall economy, with sales gradually slowing as tax incentives and subsidies enacted to fight off the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis expired.

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