BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Sales of China's home- made automobiles totaled 1.33 million units in September, up 77.88 percent over the same period last year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said Tuesday.

    The figure went up 16.98 percent month on month. It was the seventh month in a row that saw auto sales exceed one million units, the CAAM said in a statement on its website.

    Over the January-September period, the sales of domestically made automobiles exceeded 9.66 million, up 34.24 percent year on year, according to the CAAM. The country produced more than 9.61 million units, up 32.01 percent.

    The increase in September sales was boosted by surge in sales of passenger vehicles, which jumped 83.62 percent from a year earlier to 1.02 million units in September, the CAAM said in the statement.

    From January to September, the sales of passenger vehicles hit 7.24 million units, up 41.90 percent from the same period of last year. A total of 7.16 million units of passenger vehicles were produced in the first nine months.

    The CAAM said the surge in sales was boosted by the government's policies to stimulate automobile purchase. China cut the purchase tax on passenger vehicles for models with engine displacement of less than 1.6 liters.

    Whether the policy would be continued next year was not decided yet, according to an official with the CAAM.