The sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China more than doubled in the first quarter of 2019 on the back of government support measures, data showed Friday.

The country sold roughly 299,000 NEVs in Q1, up 109.7 percent year on year, while NEV production surged 102.7 percent to 304,000 units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement.

Sales of pure electric vehicles rose 121.4 percent in the period to 227,000 units, and sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles rose 79.1 percent to 72,000 in the same period, the association said.

The strong NEV sales can be mainly attributed to government measures including subsidies, easier access to license plates and tax preferences.

China's total auto sales dropped 11.3 percent to 6.37 million units, and output dropped 9.8 percent to 6.34 million units in the first quarter. The declines both narrowed from the first two months, the data showed.