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1st Ld-Writethru: China steps up support for new energy vehicles

Xinhua, February 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

China's State Council, the cabinet, on Wednesday announced a fresh set of pro-new energy vehicle (NEV) policies.

As part of efforts to achieve "revolutionary breakthroughs" in battery performance, China will encourage cooperation between enterprises, universities and research institutions, according to a statement issued after a State Council meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.

More battery charging facilities will be built, with the sector receiving increased investment and subsidies, the State Council pledged.

Other measures include increasing the share of NEVs in the public transportation system and enhancing their quality.

NEVs should account for over 50 percent of annual new vehicle purchases of government organs and public institutions, the statement said.

The policies came as the Chinese government is looking to the industry to push industrial upgrades, ease pressure on the environment and foster new growth engines.

Thanks to government incentives to encourage their use, the NEVs continued to gain popularity in China. The number sold in 2015 more than tripled year on year to 331,100, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Since 2014, China has rolled out a set of measures to promote NEVs to save energy and combat pollution. These include tax exemptions, subsidies for car purchases and requirement for government organs to buy more new energy cars.

An earlier guideline by the State Council said China will build more than 12,000 new charging stations before 2020 to fulfill the demands of over 5 million NEVs. Endi