Shanghai Adds Huge Incentives for EVs

Shanghai has introduced hefty incentives to help boost sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, the Shanghai Daily reports.

Some of the incentives 40,000 yuan ($6,400) per EV and 30,000 yuan ($4,800) per plug-in will be paid directly to manufacturers. The payments are in addition to the 60,000-yuan ($9,600) subsidy producers already receive from China's central government for each such vehicle they make.

Shanghai also is granting EV and plug-in buyers a free license plate. Shanghai Daily notes that plates, which are auctioned by the city, can cost vehicle owners as much as 70,000 yuan ($11,200).

The combined discounts would cut the price of the just-introduced 234,900-yuan ($37,700) Roewe E50 electric sedan by more than 70%.

Shanghai says it will pay manufacturers 300 yuan ($48) for each EV or plug-in battery they recycle. Employers that can coax at least 10 of their workers to buy an EV or hybrid will receive 2,000 yuan ($320) per vehicle from the city to spend on installing local charging stations.

Shanghai set up an EV demonstration zone in the Jiading district after being designated in April 2011 by the Chinese government as the country's first "pilot city" for electric vehicle development.

A poll conducted several months ago found that 65% of respondents in the city had heard about EVs, but only 9% had driven one. Among would-be buyers, 72% said they would want to be able to recharge their vehicle where they work or at a shopping center.