JINHUA, China, Sept. 19, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. (the 'Company' or 'Kandi') (Nasdaq: KNDI ), today announced that the Chinese government finally unveiled its long anticipated subsidy policy for new energy vehicles upon the approval by the State Council. On September 17, 2013, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission (the "Four Ministries") jointly issued Notice No. 551 of 2013, titling "Regarding the Continuous Promotion and Application of New-Energy Vehicles for the years from 2013 to 2015" (the "Notice").
The subsidiary policy, which covers the pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell battery vehicles, aims to increase the efforts on promotion of new energy vehicle procurement with government agencies, public organizations and public transportation areas. According to the Notice, the central government will provide, based on certain technical requirement, up to RMB 60,000 (approximately USD 9,800) for the purchase of an all-electric passenger vehicle and up to RMB 500,000 (approximately USD 81,700) for the purchase of an electric bus. The subsidy payments will be distributed to the manufacturers on a quarterly basis in advance and the subsidies will then be paid by the manufacturers directly to the consumers.
The Notice also established the following benchmark requirements for the pilot cities or regions:
- From 2013 to 2015, there shall be no less than 10,000 new energy vehicles added cumulatively in each Large Pilot City or Region, and no less than 5,000 new energy vehicles added cumulatively in each of other cities or regions;
- No less than 30% of these new energy vehicles shall be non-local brands. The local government shall not set barriers or disguised restrictions for vehicles from other regions.
- The vehicle procurements by the government agencies and public organizations shall favor new energy vehicles. For new or replacement public transportation vehicles, government agency vehicles, logistic vehicles and waste management vehicles, no less than 30% of them shall be new energy vehicles.
- The local government shall have issued specific policies and measures of vehicle purchase, public transportation operation, supporting infrastructure construction, and other aspects for new energy vehicles;
- The pilot cities are subject to an annual inspection and evaluation. Pilot cities, which fail to complete the annual promotion objectives, will be eliminated from the subsidy program.
Any city that meets the requirements above can apply to become a pilot city and qualify to receive the subsidies. This policy will expand the geographic areas for the promotion of new energy vehicle in China. Before October 15, 2013, all interested city shall prepare a detailed new energy vehicle promotion implementation plan and submit it to the Four Ministries for their evaluation and final approval to be on the pilot city list.
For more information about the Notice, please refer to the official Chinese government release http://jjs.mof.gov.cn/zhengwuxinxi/tongzhigon...89833.html .
Mr. Xiaoming Hu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kandi, commented, "We are really excited about this long awaited government subsidy policy. The subsidy for the new energy vehicles will be directly distributed to the manufacturers from the central government, which will improve the transparency in the market competition. Furthermore, the pure electric vehicle is still the main focus in the policy, which will be very beneficial to a variety of Kandi's pure EV projects. We believe the cities that are currently implementing mini-public transportation EV sharing systems will be qualified as pilot cities for the subsidies. Kandi will update the market accordingly when these cities receive the approvals of their applications."
About Kandi Technologies Group, Inc.
Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: KNDI ), headquartered in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, is engaged in the research and development, manufacturing and sales of various vehicles. Kandi has established itself as the one of the world's largest manufacturer of pure electric vehicles (EVs), Go-Kart vehicles, and tricycle and utility vehicles (UTVs), among others. More information can be viewed at its corporate website is http://www.kandivehicle.com .
Safe Harbor Statement
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Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. China: Email: Phone: 86-579-82239856 U.S.A.: Email: Phone: 1-212-551-3610
