BEIJING -- China announced on May 18 that new energy cars and ships will be exempted from vehicle and vessel tax in a bid to save energy and combat pollution.

Cars exempted include pure electric commercial cars, plug-in hybrid vehicles and fuel-cell commercial cars, according to a joint statement by the Ministry of Finance, State Administration of Taxation and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

In addition, vehicle and vessel tax will be halved for users of energy-saving cars and ships, said the statement.

China’s new energy vehicle production jumped threefold year on year to 25,400 in the first quarter of 2015 thanks to intense government promotion and support.

In March, the Ministry of Transport set a target of 300,000 new energy vehicles on China’s roads by 2020: 200,000 new energy buses and 100,000 new energy taxis and delivery vehicles.

The Ministry of Commerce also announced earlier this year that China will continue to encourage the construction of charging facilities in cities and implement tax exemptions and subsidies for car purchases.