BEIJING -- China saw about 2.24 million passenger vehicles sold in June, of which 1.2 million were domestic brands, accounting for 53.7 percent of the domestic market.

The market share of domestic brands in June rose from 45.1 percent in the same period of last year, and surpassed joint ventures and foreign counterparts, according to statistics from the China Passenger Cars Association (CPCA).

Targeted policies and frequent promotional activities, including auto shows and consumer vouchers, among others, launched by Chinese authorities, are effectively stabilizing and expanding automobile consumption, especially in rural areas.

"The rise of Chinese domestic car brands indicates the high-quality development of China's automobile industry, particularly more competitive new energy vehicles," said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the CPCA.

China has been leading the world in new energy vehicle production and sales for eight consecutive years, and currently enjoys more than 60 percent of the global market share.

Statistics from the CPCA also show that China exported 1.68 million passenger vehicles in the first half of 2023, a 92 percent year-on-year increase. In June this year, 70,000 new energy vehicles produced by Chinese domestic brands were sold overseas, up 185.3 percent year on year. Purely electric vehicles accounted for 89 percent of the total number of new energy vehicles exported last month.

At the beginning of this month, China's 20 millionth new energy vehicle rolled off the production line, underlining China's huge new energy vehicle market scale.

Since 2012, China has followed a national strategy to develop new energy vehicles. Policies and targeted measures at all levels and innovations from within the industry have promoted the development of domestic new energy vehicle industry, according to Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology.