China's auto sales up 10.6 pct in Q1

BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- China's auto sales rose 10.6 percent year on year to 6.72 million units in the first quarter of this year, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed Wednesday.

In March alone, auto sales exceeded 2.69 million units, up 9.9 percent year on year.

In the first quarter, auto output increased 6.4 percent year on year to about 6.61 million units.

The data showed that the production and sales of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) maintained rapid momentum during the period.

The NEV output surged 28.2 percent year on year to nearly 2.12 million units and NEV sales climbed 31.8 percent year on year to 2.09 million units.

The auto exports rose 33.2 percent year on year to over 1.32 million units, the data showed.