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The Chinese government is introducing new preferential pricing directives for electric vehicles in order to encourage the adoption of such vehicles in the country.

According to a statement released last month by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), any electricity used by charging points will be billed under industrial tariffs and be exempt from base costs until 2020. This new price structure will apply to both public charging stations and personal charging outlets.

Furthermore, local governments will offer financial subsidies as well as free sites for the installation of charge points, while electricity providers will be prohibited from charging fees to connect to the grid – all in a bid to increase the market competitiveness of electric vehicles.

Already, “new energy” cars, including pure electric, plug-in and fuel-cell vehicles, are exempt from purchase tax until the end of 2017. With the addition of this new set of directives, China hopes to be on track to reach its goal of 500,000 electric vehicles on the road by next year – a goal that is integral to the country’s overall efforts to decrease its pollution levels.

Watch CCTV’s video report (in English) and find out more from the official press release (in Chinese).

Picture credit: via LA Times