【英语中国】中国将试点为个人购买电动汽车提供补贴

China will subsidize buyers of battery-powered cars and plug-in hybrids under a pilot program aimed at keeping the country competitive in the global race to develop an electric-vehicle industry, but which also risks a public backlash.

Buyers of electric vehicles will receive up to 60,000 yuan ($8,800), and buyers of certain gasoline-electric hybrids as much as 50,000 yuan, under the two-year program set to start this year in five cities -- Shanghai, Hangzhou, Changchun, Shenzhen and Hefei -- the ministry of finance said Tuesday.

Similar subsidy programs already are offered or are being rolled out in the U.S., Japan and Europe.

Electric-car producers in China, such as Shenzhen-based BYD Co., assume the program will be expanded to other cities over time.

Auto industry executives said the subsidies are likely to apply only to vehicles produced in China, although that wasn't clear from the government notice. Officials weren't immediately available for comment.

Already, the move provoked resentful comments from some ordinary Chinese who question why the government is using public funds to subsidize car purchases for wealthy buyers. The issue is particularly sensitive in China, where social tensions are running high over a widening gap between rich and poor.

A comment posted on QQ.com by a person said to be living in Guangzhou stated: 'We can assume car owners are people with above-average means of living. Then, on what basis is the government justified in using taxpayers' money to provide subsidies for that group of people? I hope that the government can do something to solve the rich-poor gap.'

A China-based senior executive of a foreign car maker said the limited scope of the incentive program reflects reservations within China's central government about the social implications. 'They are testing the water with this pilot program,' the executive said.

The decision to roll out the program reflects the government's determination to foster an electric-car industry capable of competing head-on with global auto makers that are rushing to launch plug-in hybrid cars and all-electric vehicles over the next few years.

Japan's Nissan Motor Co., for instance, plans to start test-marketing an all-electric compact car called the Leaf in China next year, after the model is launched in Japan, the U.S. and Europe later this year.

Nissan is seeking a leadership position with electric vehicles. It plans to sell 50,000 electrics in the U.S., Japan and Europe in each of 2011 and 2012 and then leap to 500,000 in 2013, when the company says the Leaf will be profitable.

The Leaf, if imported to China, isn't likely to benefit from purchase subsidies from the Chinese government. Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said in April that the Tokyo-based auto maker would most likely produce the Leaf in China if the Chinese government decided to offer 'substantial' purchase incentives. He defined a sufficient subsidy as about $7,500 a car.

A Nissan spokesman in Beijing said the company was still trying to confirm the details of China's incentive program. Nissan will weigh the direction of China's green-car policy, including the scope of incentives and the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, before taking any decision on whether to manufacture in the country, the spokesman said.

BYD is already in a position to take advantage of the subsidies. The company launched its all-electric e6 taxis in the southern city of Shenzhen earlier this year.

BYD also recently said it has sealed an agreement with Daimler AG of Germany to set up a 50-50 joint venture to develop an all-electric car for the Chinese market.

中国将对私人购买电池驱动汽车及插电式混合动力车给予补贴。这一试点计划旨在保持中国在全球电动汽车产业发展竞赛中的竞争力，但也面临着遭到公众强烈反对的风险。

周二，中国财政部说，私人购买纯电动汽车将获得最高达六万元人民币(合8,800美元)的补贴，购买特定的油电混合动力汽车的补贴最高可达五万元，今年开始将在上海、杭州、长春、深圳和合肥五个城市进行为期两年的试点。

Reuters比亚迪的全电动出租车e6在深圳充电类似的补贴计划已在美国、日本和欧洲实施或正在推广。

深圳比亚迪股份(BYD Co.)等中国电动汽车生产商认为这一计划以后将扩大到其它城市。

尽管政府的通告中没有说明，但汽车行业高管说补贴很可能只适用于在中国生产的汽车。记者未能立即联系到官员发表评论。

这一举措已经引发了部分普通中国人的不满评论，他们质疑为什么政府利用公共资金为富有的购车人提供补贴。这一问题在中国特别敏感，因为中国贫富差距越来越大，社会形式也愈发紧张。

自称住在广州的网友在QQ.com上发帖道，我能断定买车之人的收入水平中等偏上，那么政府基于什么理由用纳税人的钱给这群人提供补贴？我希望政府能想办法解决贫富差距。

某外国汽车制造商驻中国高管说，刺激计划的范围有限，反映出中国中央政府对该计划的社会影响持保留态度。他说，他们用试点计划试水。

中国决定推出这一计划反映出政府决心扶持出一个能够与全球汽车制造商正面竞争的电动汽车产业。未来几年，全球汽车制造商将竞相推出插电式混合动力车和纯电动汽车。

例如今年晚些时候，日本日产汽车(Nissan Motor Co.)的“聆风”(Leaf) 纯电动紧凑型汽车将在日本、美国和欧洲上市。该公司计划于明年开始在中国试销这一车型。

日产汽车试图在电动汽车领域占据领先位置，计划2011年和2012年每年在美国、日本和欧洲售出50,000辆电动汽车，2013年销量跃升到500,000辆。公司说届时“聆风”汽车将开始盈利。

如果“聆风”汽车通过进口进入中国市场将不太可能受益于中国政府的购车补贴。今年4月，日产汽车首席执行长戈森(Carlos Ghosn)说如果中国政府决定提供实质性的购车刺激政策，这家日本汽车制造商极有可能在中国生产“聆风”汽车。他确定的充分补贴力度为每辆车7,500美元左右。

日产汽车驻北京发言人说公司仍在努力确定中国刺激计划的细节。在决定是否在中国生产电动汽车之前，日产汽车将衡量中国绿色汽车政策的方向，包括刺激政策的范围及电动汽车的充电基础设施等。

比亚迪已经占据有利位置将从补贴政策中获益。今年早些时候，这家公司在中国南部城市深圳推出了e6纯电动出租车。

比亚迪近期还说已经与德国戴姆勒公司(Daimler AG)签定协议，各出资50%建立合资企业，为中国市场开发纯电动汽车。