BEIJING - China's vehicle inventory alert index, which reflects the inventory pressure on automobile dealers, rose 0.9 percentage points month-on-month in April, industrial data showed.

The index stood at 56.4 percent in April, down 0.4 percentage points from a year ago, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association.

A higher reading indicates weaker market demand, higher inventory pressure and greater risks. The month-on-month rise is mainly due to insufficient market demand and declining sales last month, said the association.

Despite the strong demand recovery after the May Day holiday and insufficient chip supply, the inventory can meet the market demand in the next two months, it said.

The sub-index for inventory, market demand and average daily sales dropped in April, while employee index and operating condition index rose month-on-month.

China's auto sales rose 74.9 percent year-on-year to 2.53 million units in March, data by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed.