China's new-energy vehicle production and sales kept rising in the first six months of this year, with production and sales both hitting 7 million units, and NEV exports expanded by 1.2-fold during the period, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Thursday.

From January to June, China's NEV production reached 7.44 million units, representing an increase of 6.7 percent year-on-year, while NEV sales reached approximately 7.45 million units, up 7.3 percent year-on-year, the data showed.

And, China exported approximately 5.1 million vehicles in the first half of the year, up 65.3 percent year-on-year. Of them, NEV exports reached 2.36 million units, surging 1.2-fold year-on-year, according to the CAAM.

In June, the country's monthly automobile exports topped 1 million units for the first time, up 75.1 percent year-on-year, with NEV exports reaching 523,000 units, surging 1.6-fold, the CAAM data showed.

The export of NEVs has become the primary driver of China's overall automobile export growth this year, underscoring the rising competitiveness of Chinese NEVs amid ongoing sector upgrading, Zhang Xiang, secretary-general of the International Intelligent Vehicle Engineering Association, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the continued rollout of supportive policies - such as trade-in programs and new campaign to boost NEV consumption in rural areas - coupled with the launch of new models by automakers, will help unlock greater consumption potential which will bolster the steady growth of the automotive industry in China, said Zhang.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), along with four other government departments, announced on June 18 a fresh campaign to promote NEV sales in rural areas by improving auto trade-in services and strengthening support for NEV use in the countryside.

The campaign will select NEV models that meet the needs of rural consumers, have good reputations and are known for reliable quality, according to the MIIT.