Chinese car brands recorded an increase in sales in the first four months of this year, industry data shows.

More than 3 million Chinese-brand passenger cars were sold in the January-April period, up 9.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The brands had a 47.6 percent share of the domestic passenger car market during the period, up 6 percentage points year on year.

Sales of sedans and SUVs grew 34.3 percent and 3 percent, respectively, whereas MPV sales dropped 32.6 percent in the period, according to the association.