The value of the gross output of China's auto industry surged 49 percent year on year to 2.086 trillion yuan (US$308 billion) in the first half of the year, officials at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Monday.

At the same time, total export and import volume jumped 84 percent year on year to US$50.66 billion, according to a MIIT statement posted on its Web site.

From January to July, China's auto output and sales both exceeded 10 million units. In July, China's auto output stood at 1.29 million units, up 16 percent year on year, while sales stood at 1.24 million units, up 15 percent year on year, MIIT said.

Also, the Chinese government decided in June to extend an auto replacement subsidy program by six months until Dec.31 this year.

Begun in June of 2009, the subsidy aims to help get highly polluting vehicles off the road while stimulating automobile consumption.

Under the program, consumers who trade-in their used small-and medium-sized trucks and some mid-sized passenger vehicles for a new one are eligible to receive a subsidy of 3,000 to 6,000 yuan.

By the end of May, the Chinese government had handed out 1.7 billion yuan in subsidies for 127,000 trade-in vehicles.

The subsidy program has boosted domestic automobile spending by 15 billion yuan, according to officials at China's Ministry of Commerce.

(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2010)