BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's automobile industry has revealed a growth trend, with its production and sales of vehicles increasing steadily in the first seven months of 2024, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed on Friday.

From January to July, China's auto production totaled nearly 16.18 million units, up 3.4 percent year on year. Auto sales stood at 16.31 million units, an increase of 4.4 percent from the same period last year.

In July, China's auto market entered its traditional off-season and its overall performance was relatively flat. Auto production came in at nearly 2.29 million units in July, down 4.8 percent year on year, and monthly sales totaled over 2.26 million units, down 5.2 percent year on year.

Production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) maintained rapid growth in the first seven months.

During the period, NEV production climbed to over 5.91 million units, rising 28.8 percent year on year. Sales of NEVs came in at over 5.93 million units, up 31.1 percent from a year earlier. NEVs accounted for 36.4 percent of all domestic new-car sales in the first seven months.

Some 708,000 NEVs were exported during the period, a year-on-year rise of 11.4 percent