Total auto sales, including passenger cars and commercial vehicles, rose 1.7 per cent year-on-year to 8.02 million units in the first five months of 2012, while output rose 3.19 per cent to 8 million units, the CAAM said.
In May alone, China's auto sales rose by 15.97 per cent to 1.61 million units, while output increased by 16.19 per cent to 1.57 million units.
About 6.33 million passenger cars were sold during the January-May period, up 5.48 per cent year-on-year, the CAAM said.
Sales of commercial vehicles, however, continued to drop and declined by 10.31 per cent from a year earlier to 1.69 million units during the period.
CAAM Vice Secretary General Yao Jie said the new data showed the industry is obviously stabilising after posting a significant slowdown as a result of the lackluster economy, the removal of subsidies and tighter rules on new car registration, Xinhua reported.