China lowers taxes on green vehicles
Beijing. March 9. INTERFAX-CHINA - China has reduced taxes on energy-efficient and new energy vehicles, the Ministry of Finance (MOF), State Administration of Taxation (SAT) and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a joint-statement released March 7.
Vehicle usage taxes for energy efficient vehicles will be reduced 50 percent while new energy vehicles, such as pure electric, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles, will be fully exempt from the tax, said the agencies.
The new tax policy will be retroactively applied to purchases made after Jan. 1 of this year, according to the statement.
The announcement also provided a list of 49 energy-efficient vehicles and 173 new energy vehicles eligible for the tax break.
The policy is intended to boost sluggish sales of environmentally friendly vehicles in China, Yin Chengliang, deputy director of the Institute of Automotive Engineering at Shanghai Jiaotong University, told Interfax on Friday.
Insufficient charging stations and mileage limitations are major obstacles that manufacturers will have to address before the public will buy into the trend, said Yin, adding that Chinese automobile makers will also have to improve product quality and after-sales service if the green vehicles are to take hold.
- LYB
