An electric and alternative fuel vehicle manufacturing base capable of producing 300,000 new energy cars per year is being planned for north China's Hebei Province. With an investment of 3 billion yuan (490 million US dollars), the Hongxing new energy car base in Xingtai County will help shift Hebei's economy away from iron, steel, glass and cement production.
In 2017, the subsidies for purchases of pure electric-powered vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be reduced by 10 percent from the subsidy amount in 2016, according to the subsidy policies for 2016-20. Meanwhile, the subsidies will be subject to another 10 percent reduction in 2019 from the rates approved for 2017.
"Some local authorities will be forced to resort to 'unconventional wisdom'. Otherwise, they will be kicked off the list of cities where new energy vehicle purchasers are eligible for central government subsidies," Tang Lin, a senior executive at Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co, told the Economic Observer.
Existing polices have already created a fertile environment for the sector to expand, said Zeng Xiao'an, director of the ministry's economic construction department.
