China's passenger vehicles see robust June retail sales

BEIJING - The growth momentum of China's passenger vehicle market is accelerating with rising retail and wholesale sales, industrial data showed on Wednesday.

Some 1.92 million passenger cars were sold via retail channels in June, up 22 percent year-on-year and up 42 percent over May, initial statistics from the China Passenger Car Association showed.

Wholesales of passenger cars topped 2.11 million units last month, up 37 percent year-on-year.

The association attributed the robust June auto market to the country's raft of pro-consumption measures, such as cuts to car purchase taxes for certain low-emission models.

The country's retail sales of new energy cars could set a record high by nearing 500,000 units in June, the association estimated.