BEIJING - China's home-made auto sales went up eight percent year-on-year to 4.98 million units in the first quarter of this year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said Sunday.

Related readings:  Honda says March China auto sales down 5.3%  GM says Q1 China auto sales up 10%  China's auto sales growth seen near '10 rate  China's Feb auto sales down 33%

The pace of growth was 63.7 percentage points slower than that of the same period last year, said the association.

The home-made auto output totaled 4.9 million units in the first three months, up 7.48 percent year-on-year, but the growth pace was 69.51 percentage points slower than that of the same period in 2010.

Dong Yang, executive vice president and secretary-general of the CAAM, contributed the slower growth rates to oil price hike, expiration of purchases duty incentives, auto purchase restrictions in cities like Beijing and Japanese earthquakes.