BEIJING — Sales of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) in China posted robust growth in July, as the world's largest auto market steadily expands its recovery, industry data showed.

A total of 98,000 NEVs were sold last month, up 19.3 percent year-on-year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

In the first seven months, 486,000 NEVs were sold, down 32.8 percent year-on-year.

CAAM data also showed that China's auto market maintained recovery momentum last month, as increasing demand and strengthening incentives have pushed positive market growth.

Total output reached 2.2 million in July, up 21.9 percent year-on-year, while sales hit 2.1 million, up 16.4 percent year-on-year.

China's auto market, which was hard-hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, started to recover in April, thanks to unleashed pent-up demand and encouraging policies, with sales rising by 4.4 percent year-on-year. This ended a contraction streak over the past 21 months, according to the CAAM.