BEIJING - China's second-hand automobile sales posted strong growth in the first seven months of this year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.

During the January-July period, second-hand auto sales in China surged by 46 percent year-on-year to over 9.89 million units, the ministry said.

The figure represents an increase of 22.5 percent from the same period in 2019.

In July alone, the sales of second-hand vehicles rose by 15.7 percent year-on-year to nearly 1.46 million units.

Data from the ministry also showed that China's new energy vehicle sales reached nearly 1.48 million units, surpassing the total sales registered last year.