The government of congestion-choked Chinese city Shanghai wants residents to buy more electric cars so will offer extra rebates and free licence plates to buyers.
Shanghai will offer a further CNY40,000 (US$6,400) on top of the Chinese central government’s CNY60,000 rebate announced two years ago. It will also give free licence plates; a decade ago, the city launched an auction system for people to buy licence plates in a bid to curb the growth of car ownership. Last year, the price of a licence plate reached an all-time high of CNY58,625.
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“It is a turning point for Shanghai to promote new energy vehicles, which will also bring more confidence and profits to local automobile retailers, auto parts businesses and other car-related companies,” said Rong Wenwei, general manager of Shanghai International Automobile City, quoted by China Daily Information.
But, despite having 1,170 recharging points installed by SAIC Motor and mostly in the suburbs, Rong said that battery performance and lack of recharging facilities were still stopping people from embracing EVs.
