BEIJING, June 9 (Xinhua) -- China’s auto market continued to expand in May as auto sales, output and exports all saw year-on-year increases, industry data shows.

Last month, auto sales rose 27.9 percent year on year to over 2.38 million units, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed on Friday.

The auto output rose 21.1 percent year on year to over 2.33 million units, and exports surged 58.7 percent from a year ago to 389,000 units.

In the first five months of the year, auto sales and output stood at 10.62 million units and 10.69 million units, respectively, both rising 11.1 percent from a year ago. Nearly 1.76 million vehicles were exported in the first five months, soaring 81.5 percent year on year.

The association attributed the increase to consumption promotion measures in many regions that contributed to the moderate recovery of market demand, as well as a low base in May last year due to the impact of COVID-19.

As a front-runner in new-energy vehicle (NEV) consumption, China has continued to roll out supportive policies to sustain the development of its NEV market, particularly in its vast rural areas.

Last month, China released a guideline to help people living in rural areas to purchase and use NEVs, with a focus on boosting the construction of charging infrastructure.

The country’s NEV sales expanded 60.2 percent year on year to 717,000 units in May, and its NEV output totaled 713,000 units last month, up 53 percent year on year.

The NEV market share in China reached 30.1 percent in May, data shows.