The Chinese government may significantly decrease incentives for electric vehicles (EV), including buses, reports Bloomberg News. The move is in response to “overly generous” levels of incentives, as well as a growing market for plug-in vehicles.
China led the way in plug-in car sales last year with over 214,000 plug-in vehicle sales – up from just over 61,000 in 2014. Sales were spurred by incentives of up to $9,800 for the purchase of personal plug-in vehicles, while the incentive for electric buses maxed out at $81,600. That doesn’t include other perks, such as free car registration and license plates, which are subject to an expensive lottery system that can add $15,000 or more to the cost of a new conventional car.
These incentives rank among the most generous in the world, and though the Chinese government isn’t planning to eliminate these incentives entirely, they could be curbed substantially. The incentive for electric buses could be cut by as much as 49% for the largest models, and incentives for personal plug-in vehicles will only apply to those vehicles costing less than $53,800.
California has taken similar measures in limiting access to EV incentives, placing an income cap on those seeking the state rebate for up to $4,000. Norway – which has the world’s highest adoption rate of EVs thanks to tremendously generous incentives that include free parking, tolls and no sales tax on plug-in car sales – is also considering reducing or eliminating incentives for plug-in vehicles.
