The moves include holding auto festivals in 100 cities and promoting consumption of NEVs in rural areas.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

China has launched a nationwide promotion covering the rest of the year to boost auto consumption, which is critical to economic growth.

The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced specific arrangements in a notice issued today on a campaign to promote auto consumption, including holding auto festivals in 100 cities and promoting new energy vehicle (NEV) consumption in rural areas.

The MOC will promote local governments and enterprises to introduce initiatives to support auto consumption, use local financial resources, and encourage financial institutions to introduce auto credit financial support measures, according to the notice.

The MOC will organize the launch of the NEV consumption season campaign in the near future and guide various NEV consumption promotion activities in rural areas.

Car companies are encouraged to launch practical models suitable for rural areas, and the MOC will coordinate and promote the improvement of charging infrastructure systems in rural areas.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) was asked to organize auto companies to participate in these activities and to introduce preferential initiatives for car purchases, according to the notice.

At the same time, the notice stressed that local government departments should do their part in reviewing fair competition for support policies, including subsidies, that are planned to be introduced to ensure they are universally applicable to all enterprises.

The campaign will run from June to December, according to the notice.

The move comes at a time of weak growth in Chinese auto sales, with the sector facing challenges after state subsidies expired at the end of last year.

China's retail sales of passenger cars rose 28.6 percent to 1.74 million units in May, up 7.3 percent from April, according to data released earlier today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

From January to May, China's passenger car retail sales were 7.63 million units, up 4.39 percent year-on-year.

NEVs fared slightly better, but at a significantly lower rate than last year.

Retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China were 580,000 units in May, up 60.9 percent year-on-year and up 10.5 percent from April, according to the CPCA.

From January to May, retail sales of passenger NEVs in China were 2.42 million units, up 41 percent year-on-year. For comparison, last year's January-May passenger NEV retail sales grew 117.21 percent year-on-year.

China NEV retail up 10.5% MoM to 580,000 in May, CPCA data show