BEIJING -- Chinese-brand passenger car sales surged 21.2 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2023 to nearly 9.9 million units, industry data showed.

The market share of such vehicles hit 54.6 percent in this period, 6.5 percentage points higher than the same period of 2022, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

In September alone, about 1.4 million domestic-brand passenger cars were sold in China, soaring 20.3 percent year-on-year.

These sales accounted for 56.4 percent of the country's total passenger car sales last month, up 6.4 percentage points compared with one year earlier, the data revealed.