A resident tries charging a hybrid car at the launch ceremony at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center yesterday (July 6).
Shenzhen residents will receive up to 120,000 RMB (17,700 USD) in subsidies if they buy electric or hybrid cars, according to a pilot program initiated yesterday (July 6).
The program, jointly promoted by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Science, Ministry of Industry and Information and the National Development and Reform Commission, also covers Hangzhou, Hefei, Changchun and Shanghai, in a bid to cut emissions in the world s biggest auto market.
The State's maximum subsidy for those who buy plug-in hybrid cars is 50,000 RMB while the subsidy for fully electric cars is 60,000 RMB, Zhang Shaochun, vice minister of finance, said at a launch ceremony in Shenzhen yesterday.
Local governments in the pilot cities have been encouraged to offer subsidies to promote green vehicles.
The Shenzhen government will provide an additional 30,000 RMB subsidy for hybrid cars and 60,000 RMB subsidy for fully electric cars on top of the Central Government incentives.
Instead of handing out subsidies to consumers directly, the government will allocate the money to carmakers, who will then lower the prices of relevant models accordingly.
Taking the BYD F3DM (dual model) as an example: The vehicle is sold at 169,800 RMB on the Shenzhen market; buyers now can buy the car at 89,800 RMB with the 80,000 RMB subsidy deducted.
"I bought the F3DM three months ago and use the electric mode most of the time. The operating costs of the car are just one quarter of one powered by gasoline," said Lin Guojin, a hybrid car owner.
Lin said he had driven a total of 5,000 kilometers but had only used a single tank of gasoline by the end of June.
"I want to buy an electric car, and they are not expensive with the subsidies," Huang Aimin, another resident, said. But he feared there were not enough charging stations.
Zhong Shi, a car industry analyst, said: "The impact of the new subsidies on green car sales is unlikely to be very large in the short term because of high battery costs and an inadequate charging network, but the subsidies will make it easier for those interested in alternative energy cars to buy such vehicles."
Miao Xu, vice minister of industry and information, said China had allocated 4 billion RMB to support energy-saving and new-energy vehicles and will allocate "unspecified funding" to bankroll the construction of charging stations and battery recovery networks in the pilot cities.
Top State-owned auto group SAIC Motor Corp. and rising star Geely Automotive Holdings have been ramping up efforts to put low-emission vehicles on the road. SAIC plans to roll out its first hybrid car this year, while BYD started retail sales of its plug-in hybrid F3DM in March. BYD is aiming to sell 25,000 hybrid or new-energy cars by the end of 2012, 1 percent of the total vehicles in the city.
(By Han Ximin)
