China to prevent reckless development of NEV industry

BEIJING - China's top economic planner said Friday it will revise rules on project thresholds to prevent reckless development of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is drafting a new regulation on auto industry investment, with "more in-depth rules" on the requirements for NEV projects, NDRC spokesperson Meng Wei told a press conference.

It is necessary to "prevent haphazard construction and disorderly development" as the NEV industry has seen rapid technology improvement and market expansion, Meng said.

In recent years, China has intensified efforts to encourage the use of NEVs to ease pressure on the environment by offering tax exemptions and discounts for car purchases, leading to fast growth in NEV sales and production.

China has remained the world's largest NEV market for three consecutive years, with some 777,000 cars sold in 2017.

NEV sales went up 125.6 percent year-on-year to 102,000 vehicles last month, while output rose 85.6 percent to 96,000, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.