BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese carmaker Brilliance Auto, a partner of BMW, said its sales grew 58 percent in the first half of the year.

The sales of the Shenyang-based company rose to 140,000 vehicles from 88,600 in the same period a year ago, said company sources.

Monthly sales of the company's Zhonghua cars - including the Zunchi (BS 6) and Junjie (BS 4) sedans - maintained at above 10,000 units for six months in a row this year.

Meanwhile, the company exported 7,000 vehicles in the first half, up 125 percent year on year, with the number of its overseas distributors increasing to 41 from 33 at the end of last year.

Brilliance Auto, China's first carmaker to hold an exhibition at the Geneva motor, mapped out a five-year plan in January to explore the markets in Europe, Russia, the United States, the Middle East and other regions.

At the end of last year, the company clinched an export deal with a German distributor to sell 158,000 Zunchi and Junjie cars in Europe over the next five years.

Brilliance Auto is expected to produce 300,000 vehicles this year, with sales revenues reaching 40 billion yuan (5.2 billion U.S. dollars).

It also plans to double its revenues by 2010, by raising its annual output to 500,000.