China revises loan policies to encourage green car purchases

BEIJING - China Wednesday announced new loan policies for car purchases, allowing buyers of new energy vehicles (NEVs) to borrow a larger portion of the purchase price.

Starting in 2018, NEV buyers can borrow up to 85 percent of the cost from banks, according to the People's Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

The maximum loan for cars using traditional fuel is set at 80 percent.

Purchase of fossil-fuel cars and NEVs for commercial use will enjoy smaller loan ratios of 70 percent and 75 percent, respectively, the notice said.

China, the world's largest auto market, sees NEVs as a way to ease pressure on the environment. Measures are in place to encourage their use, including tax exemptions, discounts and an order for government organizations to buy more of them.

Last year sales of pure electric vehicles surged 65.1 percent year-on-year to 409,000, accounting for 80 percent of new energy vehicle sales.

The State Council has said that China will build more than 12,000 new charging stations before 2020 to meet the needs of over 5 million NEVs.

With the war on pollution in full swing, China has signalled its intention to join countries such as Britain and France and ban the manufacture and sale of cars running on traditional fuel.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology disclosed in September that the country had started research on a timetable to phase out production and sales of fossil fuel cars.