China wishes to spur NEV sales by stimulating demands of rural areas

Chinese authorities plan to hold activities in the second half of the year for bringing new energy vehicles (NEVs) to the countryside so as to spur the NEV sales that have been mired by prolonged downturn.

The serial activities are scheduled to begin in Qingdao, Shandong province in late July. A total of 16 NEV models from 10 automakers are involved in these activities, according to the notice jointly issued on July 15 by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Ministry of Commerce.

The ten companies are BAIC BJEV, Great Wall Motor, SAIC-GM-Wuling, Chongqing Changan New Energy Automobile, Chery New Energy, JAC Motors, BYD, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, FAW Besturn as well as Zhejiang Hozon New Energy Automobile. 

The notice points out that the activities should conform to the policies issued by the local governments for supporting the programs of bringing NEVs to countryside. Besides, the aforesaid automakers are responsible for announcing models and corresponding preferential incentives.

China auto sales have represented year-on-year growth for the third month in a row as of June, while the upward movement has not fallen upon the NEV sector yet. For the first half of the year, The country saw its NEV sales plunge 37.4% year on year to 393,000 units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

To revive the domestic NEV sales, a number of local governments have in succession afforded rural consumers with cash handouts. For instance, Sichuan provincial government said rural residents across the country who purchase trucks with a load of 3.5 tons or below or passenger vehicles with emissions of 1.6 liters or below (including NEVs) will be given subsidies of as least RMB1,000 ($143) per car from April 10 to August 10, 2020. Guangdong's rural NEV buyers can enjoy a subsidy worth 10,000 yuan ($1,430) per car from May to the end of 2020. Besides, Shaanxi, Hubei and Zhejiang all released relevant policies.