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The finance ministry said in a statement on Wednesday the tax
exemption, which was set to expire at the end of this year, will
run from Jan. 1, 2018 until Dec. 31, 2020 for electric, plug-in
petrol-electric hybrid and fuel-cell powered vehicles.
The extension comes as automakers in China brace to meet strict
NEV quotas starting in 2019 that are sparking a flurry of
electric car deals and new launches of electric and hybrid
models.
Amid the shift, some global automakers have called on China to
maintain financial support for the market, citing concerns
consumer demand alone will not be sufficient to drive sales
without state-backed incentive schemes to lure buyers.
The Ministry of Finance said the extension would help "increase
support for innovation and development in new energy vehicles",
an area where China is hoping it can catch up - and even
overtake - more established global automaker rivals.
Local firms like NEV specialist BYD Co Ltd are now jostling with
global names such as Ford Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co Ltd in
the race to develop successful "green" vehicles for the Chinese
market.
China's auto market, the world's largest, has slowed sharply
this year, but new-energy vehicles has been a bright spot. NEV
sales in January-November jumped 51.4 percent and are on track
to hit a target of 700,000 NEV sales this year.
(Reporting by Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI and Beijing Monitoring
Desk; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christopher Cushing)
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