The Beijing Motor Show opened to the press Wednesday with global automakers showcasing state-of-the-art electric vehicles, as the Chinese government has pledged to promote the spread of eco-friendly cars in a bid to curb air pollution.

To capitalize on the world's biggest automobile market and a population of over 1.3 billion people, many carmakers, including those from Japan and Europe, are eager to boost sales of EVs in China.

At the show, Toyota Motor Corp. announced that it will introduce 10 new EVs in the country by 2020, including plug-in hybrid EV versions of its Corolla and Levin passenger cars in 2019 and a battery electric car model in 2020.

The new PHEV models were unveiled at the motor show. Production will start in 2019 in China, the Japanese company's first overseas production of PHEVs, it said.

Nissan Motor Co. debuted one new EV model, while Honda Motor Co. unveiled a concept EV developed specially for the Chinese market.

Nearly 1,200 automobile-related manufacturers are taking part in the Beijing Motor Show, which will be open to the public from Sunday through May 4.

At the biennial event, 1,022 cars, including more than 105 new models, are on display. Some 174 models are eco-friendly cars such as EVs or plug-in hybrid vehicles, whose batteries can be recharged via an external power source.

Xi Jinping, who was reappointed to a second five-year term as China's president last month, has promised to build a "Beautiful China" with blue skies and clean air.