* PSA Peugeot Citroen says 2.939 million cars sold in 2014
* Sales of Peugeot branded cars up 43.1 pct in China
* Overall group sales in China up 31.9 pct (Recasts, adds analyst comment)
By Edward Taylor
FRANKFURT, Jan 14 (Reuters) - French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen's 2014 sales rose 4.3 percent thanks to a 32 percent jump in deliveries in China in a sign that mass market producers were outperforming premium brands in the country.
PSA said China became its largest market, reaching 734,000 vehicles in 2014, thanks to the addition of 100 dealership networks and as customers snapped up midsized crossover vehicles like the Peugeot 3008.
China is a key part of PSA Chief Executive Carlos Tavares' turnaround plan after the French state and China's Dongfeng each took 14 percent stakes in the Paris-based company as part of a 3 billion euro ($3.8 billion) bailout last year.
Cars sales in China, which is the world's largest car market, have slowed from 14 percent growth to 6.9 percent in the past year.
However, PSA figures published on Wednesday show mass carmakers may be taking less of a hit than premium brands like BMW, which faces demands for rebates from dealers unhappy with the level of inventory.
Peugeot branded car sales rose 43.1 percent in China last year to 386,565 cars. BMW sales in mainland China grew by 16.7 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 said in a note on Wednesday.
"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 see lower single-digit growth in the region in 2015.
China's vehicle market may grow 7 percent in 2015, roughly matching last year's level, although just half the pace of 2013 as the economy slows, an industry body said earlier this week.
Overall, PSA sales rose to 2.9 million cars in 2014, the company said in a press release.
Group sales of the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands in Europe rose 8.1 percent to 1.76 million vehicles, the company said. (Additional reporting by Leila Abboud in Paris; Editing by Mark Potter and Keith Weir)