New-energy cars see new subsidies

China will release new policies subsidizing purchases of new-energy vehicles in the first half of this year, Miao Wei, minister of Industry and Information Technology, was quoted by the National Business Daily as saying Thursday.

"The new subsidies will be divided into 16 levels according to the amount of energy the vehicles can save," Miao noted.

Previously, subsidies for new-energy vehicles were based on the type of technology they used. Plug-in hybrid vehicles could receive subsidies as high as 50,000 yuan ($8,040), and subsidies for pure electric cars went up to 60,000 yuan.

"The ladder type of subsidy" is more scientific, and "could encourage more people to buy vehicles with lower levels of energy consumption," Wang Binggang, an electric vehicle expert, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Four ministries including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission have reached an agreement extending subsidies for new-energy vehicle purchases for another three years, officials from related departments were quoted by CCTV as saying Tuesday.