BEIJING, Oct. 11 -- China's vehicle sales rose 9.5 percent year on year to nearly 2.86 million units in September, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed Wednesday.

In the third quarter, China's overall performance in automobile production and sales exceeded expectations, according to Chen Shihua, the deputy secretary-general of the association. He credited the sales surge in part to the country's policies aimed at stimulating consumption.

During the first nine months, vehicle production and sales grew 7.3 percent and 8.2 percent year on year, respectively, Chen noted.

Wednesday's data also showed that the production and sales of new energy vehicles surged 33.7 percent and 37.5 percent in the first three quarters, respectively.