HELSINKI (Reuters) -Sweden's Volvo Cars on Monday reported an 18% rise in monthly car sales for August compared to last year, propelled by European and U.S. demand.

The carmaker sold 51,636 cars in August, out of which 33% were fully electric or plug-in hybrid, Volvo Cars added.European sales rose 46% from the same month last year to 16,051 cars, while U.S sales rose 31% to 10,644 cars, Volvo said in a statement.

The company's sale in China fell 8% year-on-year to 15,760 cars.

Volvo Cars is majority owned by China's Geely.

(Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Terje Solsvik)