Sales of China's domestically made automobiles topped 1.14 million units in June, up 36.48 percent over the figure a year earlier, the fourth month in a row surpassing the 1.1 million units mark, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Thursday.

Sales of China's domestically manufactured vehicles stood at 6.099 million units in the first half of this year, up 17.69 percent over the figure a year earlier, according to the CAAM, adding that both the auto sale and production figures in the first six months had set a half-year record high.

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China produced 5.99 million automobiles in the January-June period, up 15.22 percent year-on-year.

The association attributed the increases to a series of government stimulus measures to boost domestic consumption.

China in January halved the purchase tax on passenger cars to 5 percent for models with engine displacements of less than 1.6 liters, a move to shore up the domestic auto consumption.

The CAAM figures showed that passenger vehicle sales volume rose 25.62 percent year-on-year from January to June to 4.534 million units, and the passenger vehicle production volume increased 20.96 percent year-on-year to 4.42 million units in the first six months.

The association said it was "cautiously optimistic" about the auto sales on the domestic market in the second half of this year, predicting that China was expected to sell more than 11 million vehicles in 2009, higher than its April prediction of 10.2 million vehicles.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2009)