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Our reporter Chen Maoli reports from Beijing

"The subsidy amount for the new round of 'old for new' has doubled. I plan not to tell the 4S shop that 'I have an old car that meets the National III standard and can receive a scrapping subsidy' when I buy the car. After I buy it, I will upload the documents myself to receive the national subsidy." Mr. Song from Shandong told a reporter from China Business News.

Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and seven other departments issued the "Notice on Further Improving the Work Related to the Old-for-New Vehicle Replacement" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"). The "Notice" pointed out: "Individual consumers who scrap fuel passenger cars with national emission standards of III or below or new energy passenger cars registered before April 30, 2018 between April 24, 2024 (including that day, the same below) and December 31, 2024, and purchase new energy passenger cars or fuel passenger cars with a displacement of 2.0 liters or less included in the "Catalogue of New Energy Vehicle Models for Vehicle Purchase Tax Reduction and Exemption" of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the subsidy standard will be adjusted."

The new subsidy standard proposes: for those who scrap the above two types of old cars and purchase new energy passenger cars, a subsidy of 20,000 yuan will be provided; for those who scrap fuel passenger cars with national emission standards of III or below and purchase fuel passenger cars with a displacement of 2.0 liters or less, a subsidy of 15,000 yuan will be provided.

Mr. Yang, 28, was very excited about the new round of car "trade-in" policy: "I have a fuel car that I have driven for 8 years. It was the first car my father gave me. I made a small profit from my business this year and wanted to change it to an electric car. Car companies are all engaged in a "price war". I have been watching for a long time and was lucky to catch up with the subsidy upgrade, so I took action recently."

The reporter noticed that after the policy was released, several car companies responded positively and launched high replacement subsidies. In fact, as early as July 25 this year, after the release of "Several Measures on Further Supporting Large-Scale Equipment Updates and Trade-ins of Consumer Goods", Mercedes-Benz, Great Wall Ora, FAW-Volkswagen, FAW Hongqi, Beijing Auto, BYD, Chery and many other car companies took the lead in responding and launched various "enhanced" replacement subsidies.

In combination with the "national subsidy", Mercedes-Benz has launched an enhanced subsidy policy. According to the national "old for new" policy, buyers who purchase some Mercedes-Benz models can enjoy a subsidy of 15,000 to 20,000 yuan. At the same time, they can enjoy an additional vehicle insurance subsidy of 7,000 to 15,000 yuan from the Mercedes-Benz manufacturer, or a Mercedes-Benz auto financial loan plan with an annual interest rate starting from 0.99% (choose one of the two).

Great Wall Ora also offers a lot of subsidies. An Ora dealer has released preferential information, and as of August 31, Ora Lightning Cat models have a limited-time comprehensive discount of up to 80,000 yuan, 30,000 yuan in cash exemption, and up to 30,000 yuan in "trade-in" subsidies (the state "trade-in" subsidy is 20,000 yuan, and the manufacturer's "trade-in" subsidy is up to 10,000 yuan).

"Adding to the national subsidy, FAW-Volkswagen renews and buys new cars" is the promotional slogan of FAW-Volkswagen. As of August 31, including the national subsidy, the total subsidy for "trading old for new" of FAW-Volkswagen's entire series (models) is up to 31,000 yuan. At the same time, the limited-time discount price of the Bora 200TSI model starts at 69,800 yuan, the limited-time discount price of the Sagitar 200TSI model starts at 89,800 yuan, and the limited-time discount price of the Tanyue 300TSI starts at 139,800 yuan.

FAW Hongqi launched the "Enjoy Replacement Gift". As of August 31, on top of the national maximum subsidy of 20,000 yuan, the Hongqi brand added a replacement subsidy of up to 50,000 yuan, for a total maximum subsidy of 70,000 yuan. Beijing Auto launched the slogan of "More Benefits", with gasoline vehicles enjoying a maximum subsidy of 40,000 yuan, new energy vehicles enjoying a maximum subsidy of 30,000 yuan, and a comprehensive maximum subsidy of 55,000 yuan.

"From the current situation, the car trade-in policy is injecting new impetus and vitality into the auto market." Lang Xuehong, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Dealers Association, pointed out in an interview with reporters that according to the current progress, the number of scrapped and updated vehicles this year may reach about 2 million. Combined with replacement and renewal, the car "old for new" policy will drive an increase in new car sales of more than 3 million units throughout the year.

It is worth noting that according to the requirements of the "Notice on Several Measures to Strengthen Support for Large-Scale Equipment Updates and Trade-in of Consumer Goods" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance (hereinafter referred to as the "Several Measures"), the National Development and Reform Commission has arranged ultra-long-term special treasury bond funds to support local governments in improving their ability to trade in consumer goods, promote the scrapping and renewal of automobiles, and the replacement and renewal of individual consumer passenger cars.

The subsidy funds for scrapping and renewal of automobiles are shared by the central and local governments in accordance with the principle of 9:1, and the specific sharing ratio is determined by region. Among them, the eastern provinces share the ratio of 8.5:1.5, the central provinces share the ratio of 9:1, and the western provinces share the ratio of 9.5:0.5. The local share will be arranged by the provincial finance according to the allocation of central funds.

The Notice also specifically pointed out that all eligible subsidy applications (including applications for which subsidy payments have been completed) submitted between April 24, 2024 and January 10, 2025 will be subsidized according to the standards specified in this Notice. Among them, for subsidy applications that have been issued according to previous standards, local governments will make up the difference according to the standards specified in this Notice.

In addition, the owner of the scrapped car and the owner of the newly purchased car who apply for subsidies should be the same consumer. The scrapped fuel passenger car with National III and below emission standards or the new energy passenger car registered before April 30, 2018 should be registered in the name of the applicant before July 25, 2024 in accordance with the requirements of the "Several Measures"; from the date of issuance of this notice, during the subsidy application review period, the newly purchased car should be registered in the name of the applicant.

"The notice stipulates that personal car scrapping applications should be registered in the name of the applicant before July 25, 2024 in accordance with the requirements of the Several Measures. The clarification of this important time node not only plugs the loopholes that some used car dealers want to exploit policy loopholes, but also provides a clear basis for policy implementation and consumers to apply for subsidies." Lang Xuehong said.

(Editor: Zhang Shuo, Reviewer: Tong Haihua, Proofreader: Zhai Jun)