BEIJING (Reuters) - China's car sales rose 14.4% in March from a year earlier, as government-subsidised trade-ins bolstered demand for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, despite deepening deflationary pressures in the world's largest auto market.

Passenger vehicle sales hit 1.97 million units last month, and were up 6.1% to 5.18 million units in the first quarter, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Wednesday.