Three Chinese departments have issued a notice targeting specific subsidy measures for the renewal of new-energy city buses and battery replacements, aiming to strengthen the expansion of large-scale equipment upgrades and the consumer goods trade-in program.
The notice, jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transport and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), proposes to utilize ultra-long special treasury bonds to provide fixed subsidies for urban bus operators to upgrade new-energy city buses and replace power batteries.
It encourages the selection of appropriate new-energy city bus models based on factors such as changes in passenger flow and the development of the urban public transport sector, with an average subsidy of 80,000 yuan ($11,068) per vehicle.
For vehicles opting to replace power batteries, the average subsidy per bus is set at 42,000 yuan, per the notice.
Chinese authorities in January announced a raft of measures to expand the scope of the consumer goods trade-in program amid a drive to boost domestic demand and spur economic growth.
China will increase the issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds and continue to support the implementation of the equipment upgrading and consumer goods trade-in programs, according to a conference back then.
In 2025, China will allocate 300 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds to further expand the consumer goods trade-in program, doubling the funding from the previous year, Li Chunlin, deputy director of the NDRC, said at a press conference on Monday.
The first installment of 81 billion yuan was distributed to local governments in early January, Li added. In 2024, China allocated 150 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds to local governments to support the consumer goods trade-in program, spurring sales of automobiles, home appliances, home renovations and electric bicycles to surpass 1.3 trillion yuan, according to Li.