Ministry issues list of new-energy vehicle models

Shanghai, August 17 (Gasgoo.com) China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has recently announced the first list of new-energy vehicles models that have got the regulatory approval for production, China Business Times reported.

There are five new-energy vehicle models in the list, including Nanjing Iveco's all-electric service vehicle, Jianghuai Auto's all-electric engineering vehicle, and BYD's F3DM model, which is the only one new-energy sedan model listed this time for mass production, according to the MIIT statement on its Web site.

At the beginning of this year, China's finance ministry announced the subsidy plans for new-energy vehicle production and purchase. The plans said the first precondition for new-energy vehicle makers to get the subsidy is that the vehicle model must be approved and listed by the industry regulator for mass production.

The BYD F3DM (dual mode) launched to the market in December 2008 has been sold only to corporate customers, and now its being listed for mass production means the new-energy car will be granted as much as 50,000 yuan ($7,320) in subsidy, which will help promote its selling among individual customers starting September this year.

Chinese automakers are rushing to develop new-energy cars to cater to the potential high demand arising from customers who are increasingly becoming environmentally conscious. Experts said new-energy cars will account for about 10 percent of the total number of vehicles in China by 2020.