BEIJING, June 18 -- Sales of pickup trucks in China rose 4.3 percent year on year in May as the country's consumption promotion policies boosted the growth of demand, industry data showed.

A total of 46,000 pickup trucks were sold in China last month, up 7.2 percent from the previous month, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

In the first five months of the year, China's pickup truck sales reached 209,000 units, and its exports of such vehicles surged 74 percent year on year to 11,500 units.

Robust growth of foreign demand has driven the continuous growth of China's pickup truck exports, said the association.