China mulls large-scale battery upgrades for city buses

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has announced a nationwide battery upgrade plan for new energy city buses amid the country's ongoing efforts to promote large-scale equipment renewals.

According to the plan issued by eight state organs, such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Transport, the upgrades must comply with mandatory national standards for battery and vehicle performance to ensure safety.

The plan stresses that every replaced battery must be recycled appropriately, and the replacement process should be well-documented.

China has previously introduced various incentives for city bus battery upgrades, including an average subsidy of 60,000 yuan (about 8451 U.S. dollars) per bus.

The country has dedicated a sweeping program to large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-ins of bulk durable consumer goods, aiming to boost domestic demand.

Last month, the Chinese government announced it would issue approximately 300 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds to support the program.