BEIJING -- Chinese-brand passenger vehicle sales soared 26.7 percent year-on-year in the first four months of the year, industry data showed.

More than 4.66 million domestic-brand passenger vehicles were sold during the period, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The market share of such vehicles rose to 60.7 percent, up 7.7 percentage points from the same period last year.

In April alone, the sales of these vehicles surged 27.3 percent year-on-year to top 1.27 million units, the data also revealed.