BEIJING, March 12 -- Since the start of 2025, China has distributed 1 billion yuan (about 139.48 million U.S. dollars) in subsidies to over 1.65 million consumers participating in its e-bike trade-in program, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

From Jan. 1, 2025, to Tuesday this week, more than 1.66 million new e-bikes were sold under the trade-in program in China, exceeding the total number sold in 2024.

Since the launch of the program in September 2024, a total of 3.046 million new e-bikes have been sold nationwide.

The program has not only provided benefits to consumers but also significantly boosted the sales performance of merchants. To date, the program has generated new vehicle sales amounting to 4.51 billion yuan this year, benefiting some 47,000 sales outlets.

The majority of these outlets are individual businesses and small-to-medium-sized enterprises, with an average per-store sales increase of 96,000 yuan, according to the ministry.