BEIJING, Sept. 8 -- Sales of new energy passenger cars in China surged in August, data from an industry association showed Friday.

Last month, the retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China expanded 34.5 percent year on year to 716,000 units, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

In the first eight months of the year, a total of 4.44 million units of these cars were sold via retail channels, surging 36 percent from a year ago, the association said.

Wholesale sales of these cars reached 798,000 units in August, up 25.6 percent year on year.

The data also showed that exports of China's new energy passenger cars rose 1.7 percent from a year ago to 78,000 units, accounting for 24 percent of the country's total passenger car exports.

The association remained upbeat about the export prospects of new energy vehicles. With the advantage of scale and market expansion, more and more made-in-China new energy products have gone global, gaining higher acceptance overseas, it said.