Staff members work at a workshop of an electric bicycle company in Lutai Economic Development Zone of Tangshan City, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- China has seen notable progress in its electric bicycle trade-in campaign, driven by policy supports designed to benefit consumers.

As of Tuesday, 505,700 electric bicycles have been traded in for new models nationwide as part of a mass renewal program launched earlier this year, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

These trade-ins have driven cumulative sales of new electric bicycles to over 1.29 billion yuan (about 179.33 million U.S. dollars), according to the ministry.

It said that by Monday, it had received over 4 million applications for subsidies related to the trade-in of passenger vehicles.

Those who trade in an old car for a new energy vehicle are currently entitled to a 20,000-yuan subsidy, and those who replace a fuel-powered car with a new energy vehicle are entitled to a 15,000-yuan subsidy.

In March, China unveiled a national program to expand domestic demand and shore up its economy through equipment upgrades and trade-ins of consumer goods. Through the program, consumers receive subsidies for replacing old products ranging from phones to cars.

Official data shows that sales of major trade-in products contributed 1.2 percentage points of the country's overall retail sales growth in October.