China to tighten subsidies for new-energy car makers

New-energy car makers in China will not get government subsidies in the future unless they innovate, a senior official said, as authorities crack down on false subsidy claims and an industry bubble. The government will stop handing out subsidies to companies and vehicles whose technology is outdated, letting them drop out of the market, said Song Qiuling, a deputy director-general with the economy-building department of the Ministry of Finance, at a forum on Saturday. China, now the world’s largest electric- and hybrid-car market, has been keen to boost growth in the industry as part of its efforts to reduce pollution, according to Caixin. The government started distributing generous fiscal subsidies to the sector in April 2015, but the industry has been rocked by scandals in which companies and buyers have made fraudulent claims to take advantage of the benefits.