Shanghai plans subsidies, license plate boost to spur car sales

The next few months may well be the best time for Shanghai residents to buy cars as the city plans to offer subsidies and facilitate the application for license plates.

Wu Jincheng, director of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization, revealed during a broadcast interview on Tuesday that the city has introduced some preferential policies to boost car sales, and local districts are also formulating such supportive measures of their own.

For instance, the city increased the quota of car plates for the year by 40,000, which would largely increase the probability of individual consumers winning the bid.

Also, consumers who trade in their old cars for new, pure electric cars can receive 10,000 yuan (US$1,493) in subsidies for each new vehicle, and their original blue plate quota for fuel cars can be kept under the name of the new electric vehicle, which means they can still change it back into a plate for fuel car in the future.

At the district level, suburban Jiading District subsidizes 10,000 yuan for the purchase of new cars priced at under 150,000 yuan, and offers 20,000-yuan subsidy for those over 150,000 yuan. The Pudong New Area and Lingang Special Area, meanwhile, are also formulating related policies.

The application process for license plates has also been accelerated via the Government Online-Offline Shanghai portal, Wu revealed. The application time can be as short as seven working days.

So far, 125 brands from 112 automotive companies have launched a total of 1,110 NEV models for sale in Shanghai, according to the commission.

The city has set a goal for new-energy car production to exceed 1.2 million vehicles by 2025, with the total output value topping 350 billion yuan. And the new intelligent connected vehicles are expected to account for more than a half of the overall NEV production.