NEV audit shows stricter review of subsidy applications necessary

THERE SHOULD BE A STRICT REVIEW OF applications before the issuing of government new energy vehicle subsidies in order to prevent fraud. Nanfang Metropolis Daily comments:

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the results of an audit of new energy vehicle subsidies in 2017, which shows that among the 24.41 billion yuan ($3.45 billion) handed out as subsidies in 2017, 118 million yuan was given to Jinhua Youth Automobile, whose actual controller is Pang Qingnian, who claimed to have invented a car that could run on water.

There was much public skepticism when Pang first announced his water-fueled car. But the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology quelled it by stating that as the vehicles were not available for production and sales, they were not eligible for subsidies. The release of the audit results has renewed the public’s suspicions that Pang is defrauding the government.

Such a suspicion is not only about Pang’s company but the entire new energy vehicle industry, because scandals related to the subsidies have been repeatedly exposed by the media. For example, according to media reports, 20 new energy buses have been parked along a dead end road in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, for a long time and have never been used, but the subsidy these buses received has been 20 million yuan.

Such phenomena have already drawn the authority’s attention, and the subsidy policy for new energy vehicles has gradually been improved in recent years. Indeed, the amount handed out as national new energy vehicle subsidies had declined by more than 50 percent by the end of June, and new energy vehicle local government purchase subsidies have been officially canceled.

But how to prevent the abuse of new energy subsidies is still a challenge. It is good to see 20 vehicle manufacturers’ applications for subsidies failed to pass the ministry’s expert review, which effectively avoided the waste of public money on fake projects.

It is expected that the review of applications for government new energy vehicle subsidies will be strengthened in order to reduce fraud, and that reviews of subsidy applications in other industries will also be stricter. Public funds are of great importance. For the financial subsidies in the new energy automobile industry and other industries, it is necessary to uphold the most stringent application review standards to prevent the money being wasted.