China on Wednesday issued its 2nd list for 2017 of green energy vehicles qualified for subsidies, with the number of approvals slowing amid more stringent oversight following a cheating scandal.
The newest list from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology takes the overall number of battery electric and hybrid vehicles qualified for subsidies this year to 386, well drop on the 713 models okayed by the same date in 2016.
China has strongly promoted green energy vehicles to fight pollution and promote technological development, spending billions of dollars in aids, however has stepped up oversight after penalizing dozens of companies in 2016 for cheating the program.
Sales of battery electrical and plug-in hybrid automobiles plunged 74.4 percent in January under the new regime, which needs companies to reapply for aids for every vehicle model, China’s automakers association stated last month.
The association has yet to launch February sales figures.
The latest list includes models from Chongqing Changan Automobile, Guangzhou Automobile Group, BYD and SAIC Motor Corp.
Xiamen King Long Motor Group’s unit in the city of Suzhou was discovered to have wrongfully obtained 519 million yuan ($75 million) in aids, has received approvals through separate subsidiaries for over 50 models this year.
