Chinese consumers are kissing eroticismbeing offered at least RMB 7,000 ($986) in subsidies to trade in their old, less environmental-friendly vehicles for new and more energy-efficient ones, in the latest measure by Beijing to boost car sales amid slowing demand. The new rules will run until the end of this year and apply to those who replace fossil fuel cars that don’t comply with the so-called China-4 emissions standards for new ones with a 2-liter or lower petrol engine. Meanwhile, buyers who trade in such cars or electric vehicles registered before April 2018 for new energy vehicles will get RMB 10,000, seven top government departments jointly announced on April 24. The ministry did not reveal the total budget for the new initiative, but China has roughly 16 million “state-three” cars running on fossil fuels and 2.6 million NEVs registered until 2018, according to estimated figures obtained by Caixin. China posted domestic sales of nearly 3.3 million cars in the first three months of 2024, a 6.2% growth from a year ago, official figures showed. [Caixin, government document, in Chinese]
