Zhang Shaochun, vice minister of the MOF, said that the specific amount of the subsidy is still under consideration. Li Yizhong, minister of the MIIT, disclosed that a low subsidy will serve no use, so the subsidy for per new-energy vehicle is likely to amount to thousands of yuan. In regards to the rumor that the maximum amount of the subsidy will be 60,000 yuan, Li gave no comment and just said it is still under study, although the figure is not high from the angle of long-term energy-saving and environmental protection.

Li said that there are currently 2 main types of new-energy vehicles on the market. One is hybrid vehicles with relatively mature vehicle models. If only government departments offered a certain amount of fiscal subsidies to help automakers lower production costs, such vehicles may be popularized. The other is hydrogen fuel cell and electric vehicles and their popularization has had difficulty due to the unavailability of relevant supporting urban infrastructures. Therefore, allocating fiscal subsidies to automakers or consumers is not enough to popularize new-energy vehicles. Relevant government departments should cooperate to build urban infrastructure and implement pilot projects before subsidizing such vehicles.

In February 2009, the MOF, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission and the MIIT held a meeting on a pilot demonstration program for energy-saving and new-energy vehicles. With active applications by some cities, the number of cities taking part in the "1,000 new-energy vehicles and 100,000 energy-saving LED street lamps in 10 cities" program expanded to 13, including Beijing and Shanghai.

The subsidies have mainly focused on urban buses that are over 10 meters long. The maximum subsidies are 420,000 yuan per hybrid bus, 500,000 yuan per electric bus and 600,000 yuan per fuel cell bus. The pilot program has achieved excellent results with several thousand new-energy buses coming into service. In 2010, the scope of the pilot program will be extended and another pilot program to subsidize personal purchases of new-energy vehicles will be launched in some cities.

Li said in an interview March 9 that the government will promote household purchases of electric and fuel cell vehicles. He added, "New-energy vehicles are expensive because of the huge investment in the research and development of such vehicles. To encourage consumers to buy new-energy vehicles, the MIIT is working with the MOF on a subsidy policy and since the subsidy will serve no use if it is too low, it is likely to amount to several thousand yuan."