BEIJING, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's automobile and chassis imports witnessed strong growth in July thanks to government moves to lower tariffs for autos and auto parts.

The value of vehicle and chassis imports rose 66.1 percent to 48.46 billion yuan (about 7 billion U.S. dollars) last month, according to the General Administration of Customs.

China imported 165,000 vehicles and chassis in July, surging 266.7 percent from June and up 50 percent year on year.

The Ministry of Finance announced earlier this year that China would cut import tariffs on vehicles and auto parts starting July 1, with tariffs for vehicles down from 25 percent and 20 percent to 15 percent.

In the first seven months of 2018, the total value of vehicle and chassis imports edged up 2.2 percent, while the amount was down by 3.1 percent year on year.

Automobile and chassis export value rose 35.3 percent in July and 17.9 percent in the first seven months.