Sales of passenger NEVs in China totaled 789,000 units in Aug, accounting for 64.6 percent of the global total, said the China Passenger Car Association on Friday.

Statistics from the association show that global NEV sales in August reached 1.22 million units, up 35 percent year-on-year.

In the first eight months, sales of passenger NEVs across the world stood at 8.23 million units. Of the figure, 61 percent were sold in China, the world's largest market for such vehicles.

China's total NEV sales, including passenger vehicles and commercial ones, totaled 846,000 units in August. In the January-August period, their sales reached 5.37 million units in the country, up 39.2 percent year-on-year.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers estimated that their sales could hit 9 million this year.

Jim Rowan, president and CEO of Swedish carmaker Volvo, said in September that it is impressive to see how fast electrification is taking place in China.

In a LinkedIn post, Rowan wrote he also saw the strong demand from consumers for EVs and the infrastructure that enables the rapid shift towards electrification.