SHIJIAZHUANG, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China's largest SUV and pickup maker Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd reported steady sales growth in February, up 18.34 percent compared with the same period last year.

The company sold 69,037 new automobiles in February, of which 2,943 were exported, a 23 percent increase from the same month last year. Sales in the first two months amounted to 180,800 units.

The growth has been primarily driven by strong SUV sales, especially the Havals, which sold 49,316 units last month, up 16.95 percent year on year.

Continuing its push into the electric vehicle market, Great Wall Motor sold 3,280 units of ORA brand last month.

Headquartered in the city of Baoding, north China's Hebei Province, the company owns several SUV and car brands like Haval, Great Wall, WEY and ORA. It sold 1.05 million vehicles in 2018 and aims to sell 1.2 million this year.