Sales at SAIC Motor Corp., China's largest carmaker, in 2013 rose 13.7 percent year on year to exceed 5.1 million units, the company announced on Tuesday.

SAIC Motor, which has joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen, is the country's first carmaker to break the five-million-unit mark in annual sales.

Shanghai General Motors Co. sold 1.58 million vehicles, up 13.1 percent year on year.

Shanghai Volkswagen Co. sold 1.53 million units, up 19.1 percent.

SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., mainly a minivan maker, sold 1.6 million units, up 9.8 percent year on year.

SAIC Motor also sold 230,000 own branded, or Roewe and MG cars, an annual increase of 15 percent.

Last year, the carmaker exported over 110,000 vehicles in 2013, up 10 percent year on year. The Chevrolet Sail model accounted for more than 57 percent of exports.

In 2013, SAIC Motor set up an international trading subsidiary in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone as part of efforts to help expansion of its two overseas subsidiaries and also to boost sales abroad.