China to promote NEVs in rural areas

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will launch a campaign to promote the use of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in rural areas, as part of the country's rural revitalisation strategy.

China's automotive manufacturers association (CAAM) will lead the campaign. CAAM will organise a launch event in Qingdao city in north China's Shandong province at the end of July.

There will be also four events in August-September held across Haikou city in Hainan province, Kunming city in Yunnan province, Chengdu city in Sichuan province and Taiyuan city in Shanxi province. Local governments will roll out preferential policies to support the events.

The campaign is part of the Chinese government's plan to boost NEV production and consumption, following the impact from the Covid-19 outbreak at the start of this year.

China's NEV production in January-June decreased by 36.5pc to 397,000 units from a year earlier, with sales down by 37.4pc to 393,000 units over the same period, according to data from CAAM.