6. FAW, Dongfeng, Changan join hands

Three State-owned Chinese automakers have joined hands to better brace themselves for the market. According to a deal signed in December, FAW Group Corp, Dongfeng Motor Corp and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co are to promote technological innovation, optimize fullvalue chain operations, expand their global markets and explore new business models. The three companies will build a technology center that will focus primarily on new energy cars, smart and internet-connected cars as well as lightweight car bodies, and also share the results. The cooperation will help Chinese carmakers to gain considerable scale, and build better and more competitive car brands, Changan said in a statement.

10. Loan policies revised to spur e-car buyers

New loan policies for car purchases were issued in November, allowing buyers of new energy vehicles to borrow a larger portion of the purchase price.

Starting in 2018, electric car 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. The purchase of fossil-fuel cars and electric vehicles for commercial use will enjoy lower loan ratios of 70 percent and 75 percent, respectively.

China’s auto market growth is set to slow to a six-year low this year, despite a 25 percent purchase tax cut on smaller car models.

Industrial experts predicted the market’s total new vehicle sales volume will reach 29 million units by the end of 2017, for an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent year-on-year.

The purchase tax cut was revised in 2016 to 25 percent on cars with 1.6-liter and smaller engines in 2017, from the previous 50 percent tax cut, to prevent a hard landing of the new car market.

9. Sales of fossil fuel vehicles could cease

Xin Guobin, China’s vice-minister of industry and information technology, said in September the government had started considering a timetable to phase out the manufacturing and sales of fossilfuel powered cars, without giving details on the time frame.

The statement followed similar moves by several countries to end the era of fossil fuel-powered vehicles, aiming to cut carbon emissions and reduce pollution by banning the sales of solely fossil fuel vehicles.

In November, China halted sales of diesel with sulphur content above 10 parts per million to address air pollution. The Fuzhou city government released a plan to replace all fossil fuel buses in the city with new energy vehicles by 2020.