China extends purchase tax exemption for new energy vehicles

BEIJING -- China will continue to waive  on new energy vehicles (NEVs) for the next three years in its latest attempt to encourage green transportation, an official statement said Wednesday.

The tax incentive covers fully electric, hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles that have obtained sales permission in China, and the measure will be effective through the end of 2020, the Ministry of Finance said in an online statement.

This was an extension of an existing purchase tax waiver that was rolled out in 2014 as part of measures to reduce emissions.

The country will add new NEV models to the list of cars eligible for the tax exemption, as long as they meet a set of technical, quality, safety and efficiency standards.

Thanks to favorable government policies, including subsidies and tax incentives, China's NEV market has seen rapid growth in recent years.

Sales of Chinese NEVs increased over 80 percent year on year in November to 119,000 units, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed.

In the first 11 months, production and sales stood at 639,000 and 609,000 units respectively, up 49.7 percent and 51.4 percent from a year ago.