China forecasts more than 800,000 green energy vehicle will be sold in the country this year, an increase of at least 58% from 2016, state media reported on Thursday, despite the central government easing up on policy supports. According to Reuters, China has aggressively promoted plug-in electric vehicles, including spending billions of dollars in subsidies, to curb urban air pollution and help the domestic auto industry establish itself at the forefront of the technology. The central government had promoted the sales of green cars for years before sales began to boom in 2015, although it eventually hopes the segment will be driven by market demand. It has reduced subsidies for the vehicles by 20% this year on a path toward eliminating the payouts entirely by the end of the decade.
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