By Martin Mou

Shares of major Chinese car makers rose sharply on Friday, after a government-backed association projected stronger June car sales in the world's biggest car market.

Shenzhen-based BYD Co., known for its electric vehicles, jumped 10%, while Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. rose 6.8%.

Among mainland-listed car makers, Ford Motor's China partner Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. climbed 8.1% and SAIC Motor Corp., the country's largest auto maker by sales volume, added 1.7%.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers Thursday said via its social-media account on Weixin that it expected car sales in the country to have increased 11% on year in June to 2.28 million units.

However, sales for the January-June period are projected to have declined 17% on year to 10.24 million units, it said.

The coronavirus pandemic crimped car sales and production in the first quarter, when the health crisis was at its peak in China.

Chinese car makers are expected to announce their final June sales data in the coming days. 



   Write to Martin Mou at martin.mou@wsj.com