Threshold of Free License Plates for Shanghai Alternative Energy Vehicles is Raised again: Owners’ Credits will be Examined.
The application and transaction of free plates for Shanghai alternative energy vehicles will be started again in May, after a half-year suspension period. This is the second time that Shanghai raised the free plate threshold. Interim Measures for Encouraging and Using Alternative Energy Vehicles in Shanghai Municipality (2016 Version), which was published on April 1st, lowered subsidies and raised thresholds. For example, subsidies for PHEVs was lowered from 30,000 Yuan last year to 10,000 Yuan and an additional 14,000 Yuan subsidy will be gained with the engine volume no larger than 1.6L, fuel consumption for hundred kilometers no larger than 5.9L and fuel tank capacity no larger than 40L. In the meanwhile, models listed in Shanghai Alternative Energy Vehicles Promotion Directory will be applied again, and only when it passes strict certification examination can it enjoy local favorable policies.
Reporters learn that the new regulation displays a stricter examination for submitters. For example, owners’ credit and social security records will be examined, and a valid Habitation Card should be held. Besides, the license plate should not be transferred within three years. The government will take some measures to check and verify charging posts’ installment. By this way, some grey incomes by transferring purchasing certificates will be eradicated to some degree.
The tight policies will make consumers more rational in choosing vehicles, giving more attention to vehicles’ performances, safety and services apart from prices. But for auto companies, the new policies may force them to update some models to meet the standards or eliminate them.
