China swats 'a few flies' to temper excesses of electric-car makers

Beijing

CHINA'S go-go era of pouring billions in subsidies that turned its electric vehicle (EV) market into the world's biggest may be coming to an end after the government cracked down on funding cheats and pledged to wean the industry off handouts.

In slapping five companies with fines for scamming the state of about US$150 million in subsidies, Chinese policymakers were making the latest in a series of moves to put checks on the torrid growth in the nation's EV industry. The crackdown, coming on the heels of higher technological requirements and a limit on licences to manufacture EVs, shows the government is guarding against excesses that may derail its goal to get five million EVs on the roads by 2020.