BEIJING — China's passenger vehicle sales are expected to surge 377 percent year-on-year to around 1.19 million units in February due to the low base factor last year, according to a report from an industrial association.

On a monthly basis, the sales of passenger cars, including sedans, sport-utility vehicles and multipurpose vehicles, will fall 44.9 percent considering the low demand during the country's seven-day Spring Festival holiday, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed.

The association expects the country's auto market to resume recovery this month, boosted by effective epidemic control and the government's pro-consumption measures.

Last month, the new-energy vehicle market maintained strong growth, which will further drive the country's auto market to expand, said the CPCA.

The wholesale volume of new-energy passenger vehicles registered solid growth last month, soaring 290.6 percent year-on-year to about 168,000 units, CPCA data showed.