BEIJING - The number of new energy vehicles to hit China's roads by 2020 will reach 300,000 as the country aims to save energy and combat pollution, the transportation authority announced Wednesday.

China will create a favorable environment to foster quicker growth in the new energy vehicle sector through intense government-led promotion, according to a guideline issued by the Ministry of Transport (MOT).

The guideline set the target of 200,000 units of new energy buses and 100,000 new energy taxies and city logistics delivery vehicles by 2020 to encourage the production and purchase of new energy vehicles.

China will continue to encourage the construction of charging facilities for new energy vehicles in cities and implement tax exemptions and subsidies for car purchases.

From Sept 1, 2014 to the end of 2017, buyers of qualified pure electric cars, plug-in hybrid electric cars and fuel cell cars will not have to pay the vehicle purchase tax, according to the MOT.

Since 2014, China has rolled out a set of measures to promote the use of new energy vehicles in its bid to save energy and combat pollution, including tax exemptions, subsidies for car purchases and requirement for government organs to buy more new energy cars.

China's new energy vehicles production jumped fourfold year on year to 83,900 vehicles in 2014, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.