BEIJING, June 24 -- Chinese manufacturers produced three times more new energy vehicles this May than they did last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Wednesday.

Production of pure electric passenger cars rose 300 percent to 9,922, with hybrids rising nearly 400 percent to 4,923. Production of pure electric and hybrid commercial vehicles rose by 700 percent and 36 percent, respectively. A total of 19,100 such vehicles rolled of the production line May.

In the first five months, Chinese automakers produced 53,600 new energy vehicles; again nearly a threefold increase over 2014.

The government has been working hard to put more new energy vehicles on road, saving energy and reducing pollution. In March, the Ministry of Transport set a target of 300,000 new energy commercial 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 build charging facilities in cities and allow tax exemptions and subsidies on vehicle purchases.