China produced 5.75 million motor vehicles in the first eight months of this year, up 23.6 percent over the same period last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The total included 4.08 million passenger vehicles, up 22 percent, and 1.68 million vehicles for commercial purposes, up 27.61 percent.

Saloon car output amounted to 3.08 million units from January to August, up 24.2 percent.

Auto sales also grew rapidly over the eight months, the sources said.

Between January and August, 5.69 million motor vehicles were sold nationwide, up 25 percent.

The total included 4.02 million passenger vehicles, up 24.1 percent, and 1.66 million vehicles for commercial purposes, up 27.08 percent.

Saloon car sales went up 26.31 percent to 3.01 million units, the sources added.

Market observers attributed the higher-than-expected growth in car sales to increasing demand and credit purchases as inflation rises.

In the first half of this year, 22 listed auto enterprises garnered 141.5 billion yuan (US$18.8 billion) in combined takings, up 114 percent year-on-year, and 6.2 billion yuan in net profits, up 188 percent.

Observers predicted that China's auto sales were likely to hit 8.5 million vehicles for the whole of 2007.