China Is Trying to Salvage Its Bruised Electric-Car Industry
Sales have declined for 10 straight months in China and are forecast to drop 14% this year.
(Bloomberg) --
China is quietly reinforcing its car industry, pushing a range of support measures and levers to help salvage its world-leading push into electric vehicles.
The coronavirus pandemic and oil-price slump slammed the nascent industry for EVs, which until this year looked like the undisputed future of transportation. Sales have declined for 10 straight months in China and are forecast to drop 14% this year to fewer than 1 million units, according to BloombergNEF. But rather than abandon an industry it plowed billions of dollars into while becoming the biggest global market for new-energy cars, China’s government is doubling down.
More than 20 provinces, as well as the central government, have rolled out packages meant to stimulate demand for EVs. And that’s had an effect: the sales decline started to show signs of easing in recent months.
Here are the key actions taken by China:
Date | Stimulus policy by central government |
---|---|
Feb. 24 |
|
March 13 |
|
March 23 |
|
March 31 |
|
April 29 |
|
May 22 |
|
Source: government announcements |
Incentives | Provinces and cities implementing policies |
---|---|
Subsidies for new-car purchases |
|
Increase of license-plate issuance |
|
Encouraging replacement of aged vehicles |
|
Electrification of public transportation |
|
Source: government announcements |
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
With assistance from Bloomberg