This is a very good idea, i think. What say you, @
LeveragedBuyout , @
Chinese-Dragon , @
Edison Chen , @
sahaliyan , @
Okemos , @
xunzi ?
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SHANGHAI—China announced new subsidies and other inducements Sunday to get government officials and agencies to buy energy-efficient vehicles in a renewed boost for a sector Beijing has had high hopes for.
Under the new rules, which will be phased in over the next two years, electric cars, hybrids that run on gasoline and electricity and other new energy vehicles will account for no less than 30% of all new cars bought for official use each year, according to a notice from the country's main economic planning agency, the Finance Ministry and three other government agencies.
The notice said subsidies will be offered to government and public agencies for purchases of vehicles that cost less than 180,000 yuan ($29,186), subsidies included. Local governments will be asked to build charging stations and other needed infrastructure, said the notice, which was posted on the government's website.
The Chinese government has been trying to promote use of new energy vehicles for the past five years, seeing them as a way to reduce pollution and as an emerging technology Chinese businesses might be able to conquer.
The government previously set a goal of having 500,000 plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles on the road by next year and five million by 2020, though it is far from meeting the target. Sales of new energy vehicles reached 17,642 units last year, up around 38% year-over-year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. By contrast, around 18 million passenger cars were sold in China last year.
German auto maker
BMW AG
BMW.XE +0.71% expects China to become the world's largest market for electric vehicles in five years. Several local auto makers are active in developing new energy vehicles, including
BYD Co.
002594.SZ +0.69% and
SAIC Motor Corp.
600104.SH +0.26% ,
General Motors Co.
GM +0.53% 's joint venture partner in China.
The new measures' target for official fleets is likely to give a bump to the sector. Purchases of official vehicles in China run between 70 billion yuan (around $8.3 billion) and 80 billion yuan a year, less than 5% of the country's overall annual passenger-car demand according to estimates from consultancy Automotive Foresight.
The new measures follow last week's announcement that car buyers will be exempt from a 10% vehicle tax when they purchase certain new energy vehicles and other fuel-efficient automobiles.
Last year, the Finance Ministry said
buyers of electric cars will receive up to 60,000 yuan ($9,700) in subsidies while buyers of certain gasoline-electric hybrids may get as much as 35,000 yuan.
Cities, where the growth in car ownership is contributing to choking pollution, are also offering inducements. In late June, Beijing said it would add 10,000 public charging poles by 2017. Earlier this year, Shanghai announced plans to give 3,000 free license plates to buyers of imported electric cars, exempting them from a bidding system that drives up license plate prices to more than 70,000 yuan.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/chin...cials-to-buy-energy-efficient-cars-1405275633