BEIJING - Auto sales in China, the world's biggest auto market, continued to expand at a faster pace in September with growth for the month reaching a new high in more than three years, data from an industry association showed Wednesday.

About 2.56 million cars were sold on the Chinese market last month, up 26.1 percent year on year, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

This is an increase from the 24.2 percent registered in August and the fastest growth in around three and half years.

In September, China's vehicle output rose 32.8 percent from a year ago to 2.53 million units.

The strong momentum came as the Chinese economy is showing more signs of stabilizing in recent months.

Earlier official data showed China's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 50.4 in September, unchanged from August and staying above the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction for the second month in a row.