Peugeot, Citroen and DS perform exceptionally in China during 2014, 2015 should be better still.

PSA Peugeot Citroen's sales in China jumped 32 percent to 734,000 vehicles last year, a sign that mass-market producers were outperforming premium brands in the country.

PSA said China has become its largest market, thanks to the addition of 100 dealerships and new models such as the Peugeot 3008 crossover. PSA's China market share rose to 4.4 percent, up from 3.6 percent in 2013.

China is a key part of company CEO Carlos Tavares' turnaround plan after the French state and China's Dongfeng Motor Corp. each took 14 percent stakes in the company as part of a 3 billion euro (22 billion yuan) bailout last year.

Cars sales in China, the world's largest car market, have slowed from 14 percent growth to 7 percent in the past year.

But PSA sales data suggest mass carmakers may be taking less of a hit than premium brands such as BMW, which faces demands for rebates from dealers unhappy with the level of inventory.

BMW Group sales in mainland China grew 17 percent last year, with a total of 455,979 BMW and Mini vehicles delivered to customers.

"We prefer mass over premium exposure in China in 2015," Stuart Pearson, an autos analyst at Exane BNP Paribas wrote in a note to investors. "While growth in financial services should support the overall market, we fear that the 1 million plus units of new premium capacity added over 2014-15 will continue to pile pressure on pricing."

For the industry as a whole, the slowdown in sales was most marked in the fourth quarter, but PSA China sales are estimated to have been up 28 percent in that period, Pearson said.

By contrast, BMW this week said it would have lower single-digit growth in the region in 2015. 

China's vehicle market may grow 7 percent in 2015, matching last year's level, although just half the pace of 2013 as the economy slows, an industry group said this week.

China sales are critical for the earnings of European carmakers, accounting for more than half of global earnings for each of the German manufacturers in 2014, analysts at Bernstein Research wrote in a note, adding that Volkswagen could be a beneficiary while BMW may be losing momentum.

"Recent management changes suggest [BMW] CEO Norbert Reithofer felt it was a good time to bow out on a high. At the risk of sounding too cynical, it could be argued that investors would be well advised to follow his lead," Bernstein wrote.

China now contributes more than 500 million euros to PSA's 2014 group profits, Bernstein wrote. 

PSA made a net loss of 2.3 billion euros in 2013 and said after its rescue last year it might not return to positive cash flow until 2016.