China announces plans for new subsidies for 'greener' cars
Tue 19 March 2013
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China is planning to introduce new subsidies for low carbon vehicles in a plan which is expected to be released in the first half of 2013. Reports say that subsidies will be at 16 levels starting at more than 3,000 yuan (£320).
Domestic media reports cited Miao Wei, head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology who said attention will be given to energy-saving vehicles, especially hybrids. He added that hybrid car technology has gradually become mature. Previous Chinese Government incentives have focused more on electric vehicles than hybrids.
Valid from 2010 to 2012, an incentive for private buyers of alternative-energy vehicles provided them with a maximum subsidy of 50,000 (£5320) yuan for plug-in hybrids and 60,000 (£6390) yuan for all-electric vehicles. However, other kinds of energy-saving vehicles - including conventional gasoline-electric hybrids and small vehicles with an engine displacement of 1.6 liters or less - were only eligible for a 3,000 yuan subsidy.
Due to high prices and less government support, sales of hybrid cars have been sluggish in China.
China rolled out specific measures to subsidize clean-energy cars for private buyers in 2010 to boost the sector, but sales remained lacklustre due to high production costs. In 2012, sales of new-energy cars amounted to 12,791 units, almost double the number recorded in the previous year, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed.
According to the country's guidelines on environmentally friendly vehicles, sales of new-energy cars are expected to total 500,000 units by the end of 2015.
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