China's car trade-in subsidies drive NEV surge: report

TIANJIN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- China's subsidies for car trade-ins are accelerating the adoption of new energy vehicles (NEVs), with monthly NEV penetration in the passenger car market expected to exceed 60 percent in 2025, according to an auto industry report released on Friday.

The report, compiled by Automotive Data of China (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. and automobile information, trading and services platform Dongchedi, or DCar, noted that over 70 percent of the surveyed consumers said the subsidies boosted their purchase intent.

In the first quarter of 2025, passenger car trade-in purchases hit 2.79 million units in China, a year-on-year increase of more than 1 million units. The report also showed that trade-in replacements had dominated subsidy categories, reaching 2.03 million units during the period.

Consumers strongly favored subsidies with lower entry barriers, such as those for new-car purchases and trade-in replacements, Dongchedi's user research revealed. As subsidies become routine, "applying for subsidies before buying" has become a common practice among consumers, of whom more than 50 percent rely on offline 4S stores for subsidy information, the report said. ■