BEIJING - New energy vehicle (NEV) production in China has more than tripled in the first eight months of this year, boosted by the government support out of environmental concern.

A total of 31,137 NEVs were produced in that time, up substantially by 328 percent from the same period of 2013, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.

Plug-in hybrids saw the largest increase with the output soaring by almost 12 times to 6,621 units. Pure electric sedans increased by nearly seven times to 16,276 units.

The Chinese government has been a firm supporter of the green cars. It maintained subsidies to producers in the beginning of the year, adding more cities onto the NEV pilot list and promising tax cuts for consumers of NEVs.

The public sector also took the lead in using new energy vehicles. Government departments have to guarantee new energy cars should be no less than 30 percent of total newly purchased vehicles in the coming two years, said a guideline issued by the State Council in July.

However, the vehicles still face problems including weak market recognition, poor charging facilities and relatively high prices.

In 2013, NEV sales stood at 17,642 units in Chinese market, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.