BEIJING - Chinese car brands maintained steady expansion in sales and gained a larger market share in May 2022, industry data showed.

A total of 620,000 Chinese-brand passenger cars were sold last month, up 5 percent year-on-year and surging 29 percent from April, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

They accounted for 46.3 percent of the total sales in May, up 9.8 percentage points from a year ago.

In the first five months of the year, Chinese-brand car sales accounted for 46 percent of the total passenger car sales in the Chinese market, up 8.6 percentage points from the same period last year, said the association.

It noted that domestic auto brands have recorded robust growth in the new energy vehicle market, with the market share of leading firms such as BYD, Geely, Changan, and Chery recording remarkable growth.