Beijing is expected to offer subsidies to spur vehicle sales in rural areas, bidding to shore up an auto market that sank to a ten-year low in April amid resurging coronavirus outbreaks, according to an official media report.
Beginning in June, consumers that purchase vehicles priced at 150,000 and below will qualify for 3,000 yuan ($444) to 5,000 yuan in subsidies, China Securities, a financial newspaper run by state-owned Xinhua news agency, reported this week.
The subsidy will be available to buyers of gasoline-powered vehicles as well as electrified vehicles, the Beijing-based newspaper noted.
Shanghai and the northeast city of Changchun, two of China’s major auto production centers, were locked down in April as the Chinese government pursues a zero-tolerance policy to control COVID-19.
The move sent April new-vehicle sales across China tumbling 48 percent to 1.18 million, a 10-year low for the month.
The market has contracted 12 percent to 7.69 million through April, according to a tally released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.