China's automobile sales surged by 26.71 percent in the first half of the year to reach 3.53 million units, according to figures released Friday by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The output of automobiles posted an even stronger growth of 28.94 percent in the first six months to 3.63 million units.

The production and sales of sedans soared by 50.26 percent and 46.9 percent, respectively.

The country produced 2.59 million passenger vehicles between January and June, up 40.3 percent year on year.

The sales of passenger vehicles rose 36.53 percent to reach 2.51 million units.

The output of commercial vehicles went up by 7.16 percent to reach 1.03 million units, while sales gained 7.71 percent to reach 1.02 million units.

Industrial analysts said the growth may slow down in the second half of the year, as stocks of some manufacturers are building up.

They estimate that the growth rates of both production and sales for the whole year may stand around 20 percent, with production likely to hit 6.8 million units, an increase of 1 million units over 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency July 8, 2006)