BEIJING — China's automobile exports surged 73 percent month-on-month in May, hitting a record high for 2022, industry data showed.

Last month, the country exported about 245,000 automobiles, soaring 62.3 percent from the same period of 2021, said the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

In breakdown, approximately 196,000 passenger cars were sold overseas in the period, up 69.7 percent year-on-year. The exports of commercial vehicles climbed 38.2 percent over one year earlier to about 49,000 units.

In the first five months of the year, China's automobile firms exported about 969,000 vehicles, up 44.7 percent from the same period last year, showed the data.