Haikou hosts the new energy vehicle (NEV) show in South China's Hainan Province on Friday. Close to 300 new energy and intelligent connected vehicles are on display at the fair. Officials said China will raise the proportion of NEV sector to 20 percent of total new auto sales by 2025. Photo: cnsphoto

China's auto exports rose 1.2 times year-on-year in the first seven months of 2021, exceeding the volume in 2020, driven by record high exports of new-energy vehicles (NEVs), according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on Tuesday.

Chinese auto companies exported 1 million vehicles from January to July, the data showed. In July, auto exports grew 1.8 times year-on-year to 174,000 units, and growth in NEV exports contributed 31.5 percent.

Chinese officials attributed the overall expansion to an uptick in NEV exports, according to a statement on the website of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). In the first seven months of 2021, NEV exports rose 102.5 percent year-on-year, a new record of growth, which improved overall export growth by 0.6 percentage points, an official was quoted as saying. 

Zhu Xiaoliang, a MOFCOM official, said that the ministry, together with other relevant authorities, will further promote vehicle consumption across the industry chain and build a multidimensional, highly efficient and green development structure for the sector.

In the first seven months, China's auto production totaled 14.4 million, up 17 percent year-on-year. In July, production reached 1.86 million, including 289,000 NEVs, up 162.7 percent year-on-year, according to the data released by the CAAM.