BEIJING, April 25 -- China's vehicle purchase tax exemption for new-energy vehicles (NEVs) went up 36 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2023, amid the country's continuous efforts to promote automobile consumption and advance green development, official data shows.

A total of 21.24 billion yuan (about 3.09 billion U.S. dollars) of tax was waived off in the January-March period, according to the State Taxation Administration.

China has been implementing the purchase tax exemption policy since 2014 to shore up the development of the NEV sector. In September 2022, it extended the preferential tax policy to the end of 2023.

Partly boosted by tax incentives, China's NEV sector has been growing rapidly over the years. During the first quarter, the retail sales of NEVs jumped 22.4 percent year on year to 1.31 million units, industry data showed.