Passenger-vehicle sales in China rose 13 percent last month as consumers brought forward purchases in anticipation more cities will implement ownership restrictions to fight pollution and congestion, according to an industry group.

Retail deliveries of cars and multipurpose and sport-utility vehicles climbed to 1.5 million units in April, the Passenger Car Association said today in a statement. That compares with the 1.56 million median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Six Chinese cities, the latest being Hangzhou in eastern Zhejiang province, have imposed quotas on new license plates to control the growth in vehicle population as worsening smog led Premier Li Keqiang to declare “war” on pollution. More municipalities are considering introducing restrictions, the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said last year.

“After Hangzhou imposed restrictions, it stimulated demand as people brought forward purchases,” said Harry Chen, a Shenzhen-based analyst at Guotai Junan Securities Co. “This could be a factor for the next few months.”

Premier Li said in March that fighting air pollution is one of the government’s top priorities. The World Health Organization said the same month that air pollution contributed to 7 million deaths worldwide in 2012 ― with 40 percent of those coming from the region dominated by China under the WHO’s classification system. Outdoor air pollution can cause lung cancer, a WHO agency said last year, ranking it as a carcinogen for the first time.

Consumers in Nanjing, the capital of eastern Jiangsu province, rushed to buy cars at an auto show on May 1 on concern that the city will introduce purchase limits, China National Radio reported on its website. About one car was sold every three minutes during the exhibition and sales surged by as much as 40 percent in April at some dealerships, according to the state-backed radio station. (Bloomberg)