BEIJING, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China narrowed contraction as the world's largest auto market steadily expands its recovery, industry data showed.

Employees work on an assembly line at a factory of vehicle manufacturer BYD Auto in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, on Feb 25, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

The year-on-year sales drop during the January-May period was 4.7 percentage points smaller than that registered in the first four months, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

Some 289,000 NEVs were sold within the period, while about 295,000 units were produced, down 38.7 percent and 39.7 percent, respectively, year on year.

The decrease in NEV production narrowed by 5.1 percentage points from the January-April period.

CAAM data also showed China's auto market ramped up expansion in recovery last month, with both production and sales clocking double-digit growths that were much higher than April.

The year-on-year growths in output and sales were 15.9 percentage points and 10.1 percentage points higher than those registered in April, respectively.

In April, automobile sales increased by 4.4 percent year on year to 2.07 million units, ending a contraction streak over the previous 21 months.