China to cut new energy vehicle subsidies by 30% in 2022

Image Credit: REUTERS/Aly Song

China will cut subsidies for New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) such as electric cars by 30% in 2022 and withdraw them all by the end of the year, the Treasury Department said on its website.

The subsidies for NEVs would be reduced by 10%, 20% and 30% respectively from 2020 to 2022. For NEVs for public transport, subsidies are to be reduced by 10% in 2021 and 20% in 2022.

China, the world's biggest auto market, has set a target for NEVs, including plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, to make up 20% of auto sales by 2025.

Global automakers such as Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), General Motors Co (GM.N), Toyota Motor Corp (7203. T) and Tesla Inc (TSLA .O) increase production of electric vehicles in China.

NIO (NIO.N) said on Friday that buyers of its ES8, ES6 and EC6 vehicles having posted a deposit before December 31, 2021 and taking delivery of their purchases before March 31, 2022, can still benefit from subsidies under the the 2021 Plan.

Any loopholes in the 2022 policy would be borne by the Shanghai-based company, he said.

The ministry also said that China will strengthen supervision of safety issues of NEVs to prevent accidents. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers previously estimated in December that NEV's sales in China would increase 47% to 5 million in 2021.