China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) deputy chief engineer Xu Haidong said Saturday that preliminary estimates suggest China's auto sales could grow 6.5 percent this year, up from the 4 percent forecast in January.

A formal revision of the forecast will be released in July, Xu said.

Xu estimated that sales of new energy vehicles could surge 46 percent this year to more than 2 million units, adding that the share of electric vehicles could reach 20 to 25 percent of total vehicle sales by 2025.

China's NEV sales expected to grow at annual rate of over 40% in next five years