BEIJING, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's automobile exports hit a record high in October, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed.

The country exported 337,000 motor vehicles last month, surging 46 percent year on year. The figure also represented a 12.3-percent increase over the number registered in September, said the association.

Some 279,000 passenger cars were sold overseas in October, climbing 40.7 percent year on year and up 11.6 percent month on month.

The rapid expansion of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) was a highlight of China's auto exports in October.

Last month, 109,000 NEV units were exported, jumping 81.2 percent year on year. NEV exports almost doubled year on year in the first ten months of this year to 499,000 units.

In the January-October period, China's auto exports neared 2.46 million units, rising 54.1 percent from the previous year, the data also showed.