China's auto sales rose 3.3 percent year-on-year to 2.24 million vehicles in March, an industry group said Thursday, rebounding from a holiday slowdown.

Vehicle sales had slipped 0.2 percent from 2014 in February, which included a week-long holiday for the Chinese New Year.

For the first three months, auto sales gained 3.9 percent on the same period last year to 6.15 million vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

China is the world's largest auto market, yet slowing economic growth, limits by some cities on vehicle numbers and a prolonged corruption crackdown affecting the luxury segment have all had an impact on sales.

Foreign brands have outpaced the market, helped by greater recognition and perceptions of better quality.

Vehicle sales by US auto giant General Motors in China increased 8.0 percent year-on-year in March to a record 338,350 units, the company said Tuesday.

Another US company, Ford, said this week it sold 104,842 vehicles in China for March, up 1.0 percent from the same month last year.

Ford last month opened a $760 million assembly plant in Hangzhou city, boosting its China production capacity by 250,000 vehicles.

China's auto sales reached 23.49 million vehicles last year, jumping 6.9 percent from 2013.