SHENZHEN - BYD, China's leading new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer, reported annual 73.2 percent growth in NEV sales in the Jan-July period amid a NEV market boom.

In a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the Shenzhen-based carmaker said it sold 162,220 NEVs, compared to 93,677 units in the same period last year.

The strong growth is almost all driven by the pure electric passenger vehicle sector, which saw sales surging 228.9 percent year-on-year to 105,294 units.

In July alone, the NEV sales, however, fell 11.8 percent to 16,567 units as sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles fell 35.2 percent to 6,495 units. Meanwhile, sales of pure electric passenger vehicles rose 16.4 percent to 9,515 units.

Despite strong NEV sales, BYD saw a sharp decline in gasoline-powered vehicles when the country's auto market continued to report a sales slump this year.

The carmaker sold 96,837 gasoline-powered vehicles in the seven months, down 42.4 percent year-on-year.

In late April, BYD said it was expecting a net profit of 1.45 billion yuan ($206 million) to 1.65 billion yuan in the first half of the year, an annual increase of 202.7 to 244.4 percent, on projected strong NEV sales in the second quarter.

In China, the NEV sector has been a bright spot for the auto market. NEV sales surged 80 percent year-on-year in June and 49.6 percent in the first half of the year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.