BEIJING - China's passenger vehicles sales fell in January, the first year-on-year drop in almost a year, data showed Thursday.

A total of 2.12 million passenger vehicles were sold in January, dropping 9.8 percent year on year, marking the first year-on-year drop since February 2016, according to China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The association attributed the fall to the Spring Festival holiday and the effects of less preferential car purchase policies.

China has had the world's largest car buying market for eight consecutive years. About 28 million cars were sold in China in 2016, up 13.7 percent year on year thanks to preferential purchase policies and other government measures, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Last December, the Ministry of Finance continued its preferential car purchase taxation policy but reduced the tax cuts for 2017.

Growth in auto sales in 2017 could slow to an annual 2 to 6 percent, according to the MOC.