China grants subsidies to makers of electric vehicles

Subsidies will be given from 2013 to 2015.

China’s Ministry of Finance said the Subsidies will be provided to help promote new-energy vehicles. Manufacturers of pure electric automobiles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles will be eligible for the subsidies.

Government organizations, public institutions and public transportation will be key targets for the new policy. The subsidy standards will be rated following basic price differences between new-energy automobiles and their traditional counterparts. It will decrease each year, however, due to scale of production and technological progress.

Government financial authorities will also reward pilot cities with subsidies in proportion to their investment in building charging equipment. The key target regions will be mega-cities such as Beijing and Shanghai or city clusters such as the Pearl River Delta region that are under heavy pressure to save energy and cut emissions.