BEIJING - China's automobile sales hit a record high in March, data showed on Friday.

Sales amounted to 2.17 million units in March, up 35.8 percent from 1.6 million units in February, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

Auto production rose 34.4 percent from a month earlier to 2.2 million units, the CAAM said.

Chinese-brand passenger cars sold about 671,800 units in March, up 33.27 percent month on month, but down 2.33 percent from the same period last year.

Sales of Chinese-brand passenger cars accounted for 39.28 percent of China's passenger car market, down 4.1 percentage points from the same period last year, the seventh consecutive decline since last September.

Chinese auto makers exported 209,000 units in March, down 7.8 percent from the same period last year.

On a year-on-year basis, China's auto industry also maintained strong growth, with sales up 6.6 percent and production surging 5.6 percent.

China has been the world's largest auto market and producer for five consecutive years, with sales and production both exceeding 20 million units for the first time in 2013.