The “Home Appliance to the Countryside” Scheme in China is going to expand to cover a new item--electric bikes subject to the approval of the Ministry of Finance.

Major provinces and cities have already submitted related applications to relevant departments. The Anhui Finance Bureau, Henan Finance Bureau and Yunnan Finance Bureau said they are striving to include electric bikes in the subsidy scope which covers nine products now.  Their applications have been submitted to the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce. Once approval is secured, rural residents in the three provinces who buy electric bikes will be able to enjoy the same financial subsidies as those for purchasing motor vehicles and motorcycles.

According to the “Notice Of Suggestion For New Category of Subsidized Household Appliance” previously issued by the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce, provinces were requested to add an item to the list under the scheme. And the Anhui Finance Bureau, after conducting a large-scale resident survey and consulting with the AnHui Household Electrical Appliances Association on the status of the home appliance industry within the province, and holding a seminar to collect views of relevant parties and enterprises from the three major home appliance manufacturing bases-- Hefei, Wuhu and Chuzhou, picked the electric bike in the end.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is supportive of the addition. It has pointed out that the scheme had to be perfected and adjusted to enrich the range of household appliances to the benefit of rural residents. To address the issue of too few items on the subsidy list raised by farmers, the program will adopt the 9+1 model, with provinces given the discretion to add a 10th item that suits their practical needs, such as the electric bike, gas stove, etc.

 According to the Electric Bike Professional Committee of  China Electrical Equipment Industrial Association, in rural areas and central and western parts of China which have grown in affluence, market demand for electric bikes is strong, thus if they are included in the subsidy list, more farmers will benefit. Hu Gang, Deputy General Manager of Jiangsu Xinri E-Vehicle Co., Ltd., said the company is watching closely development of the scheme. If the change in policy is approved, he expects the electric bike industry to grow quickly and sales of its branded electric bikes to rise more than first anticipated.