BEIJING -- Sales of passenger cars in China rose in August as the industry recovered rapidly, data released by the China Passenger Car Association showed.

The retail sales of passenger vehicles expanded 8.9 percent to reach 1.7 million units last month, registering the fastest growth since May 2018, the association said in its latest monthly report.

Better-than-expected car exports and expanding sales of new energy vehicles contributed to strong passenger car sales growth in July and August, the report said.

In the first eight months, passenger car sales fell 15.2 percent year-on-year. The decline narrowed by 3.3 percentage points compared with the January-July period, the report showed.