Recently, four authorities, including the Ministry of Finance, have released the Circular on Adjusting and Improving the Fiscal Subsidy Policies to Promote the Use of New Energy Vehicles (the "Circular").
The Circular makes adjustments in three respects, including heightening the threshold technical requirements, optimizing subsidy standards for new energy vehicles and adjusting by vehicle category the requirements on the mileage, to improve the policies of subsidies granted to promote the use of new energy vehicles. Further, the Circular states that in view of technical advancement in power batteries, minimum requirements on the energy density of the power battery system used in battery electric passenger vehicles, non-rapid-charge battery electric buses and special purpose vehicles are further enhanced, and it is encouraged to adopt high-performance power batteries. Once a category of new energy vehicles has been included into the Catalog of Recommended Models of New-Energy Automobiles to be Promoted, the party that sells and promotes such vehicles may apply for the subsidies, and the models listed in the Catalog (2017 Edition), if they are able to satisfy the adjusted technical conditions for subsidies, may be directly included into the new Catalog. Meanwhile, according to variations to the cost and other factors, the subsidy standards for new energy passenger vehicles are adjusted and optimized, with the subsidy standards for new energy buses and special purpose vehicles lowered to a reasonable extent. Furthermore, the Circular expressly states that the relevant policies shall come into force from February 12, 2018, and a transition period is established beginning from February 12 to June 11, 2018.