BEIJING - Private capital is encouraged to flow into new energy vehicle (NEV) production so as to boost the healthy development of the NEV market, the country's top economic planner said on Monday.

China will also assist conventional automobile enterprises to restructure to use NEVs, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) website.

If an electric car manufacturer applies to increase production capacity, its capacity utilization rate should be higher than the industrial average during the previous year.

The country will optimize capacity layout of the conventional oil-fueled automobile industry by encouraging mergers and restructuring.

The NDRC and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will be responsible for monitoring the auto industry, the statement said.

Production and sales of new energy vehicles in China rose in May. A total of 45,000 NEVs were sold, up 28.4 percent year on year, while 51,000 NEVs were produced, up 38.2 percent , data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed Monday.