Changsha, the capital of central China’s Hunan province, is joining three other major cities and subsidizing new-vehicle sales produced locally to help spur demand and minimize the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The city will offer subsidies of up to 3,000 yuan ($429) to buyers of new vehicles built locally by five automakers from March 11 to June 30, the Changsha city government said Friday.
The automakers include Volkswagen Group, Fiat Chrysler, Mitsubishi Motors and two domestic companies – BYD Co. and Leopard Motors.
Changsha is the second city in Hunan province to subsidize sales of locally produced vehicles, following Xiangtan.
On March 2, Xiangtan said it would provide a 3,000 yuan subsidy to the first 3,500 customers purchasing new cars assembled locally by Geely Automobile Holdings.
Since last month, Foshan and Guangzhou – two cities in the south China province of Guangdong – have also rolled out subsidies to stimulate sales of locally built vehicles.
In February, Foshan, where VW operates a major production site, said it would offer a subsidy of 2,000 yuan for purchases of new cars and 3,000 yuan for replacement of existing vehicles for a year, starting March 1.
Earlier this month, Guangzhou announced it would provide up to 10,000 yuan in subsidies to buyers of new full-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids from March 1 to the end of this year. The city will also dole out 3,000 yuan toward vehicle replacement in the period.
Guangzhou is home to state-owned Chinese automaker GAC Motor Co. and its joint ventures with Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler.
While more city governments are rolling out subsidies for new-vehicle sales, the central Chinese government hasn’t taken any action to revive the domestic new-car market, which contracted severely in February amid the viral outbreak.