China spends 3.5 billion yuan to subsidize vehicle purchases

China’s old-for-new car program provided subsidies for vehicle purchases amounting to 510 million yuan (US$76.42 million) in September, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said. Some 36,000 automobiles were sold under the trade-in program in September, up 50% from August, the MOC reported in a statement on its website. In the first nine months of 2010, the country issued a total of 3.5 billion yuan (US$524.43 million) in subsidies for old-for-new vehicle purchases, worth 28.6 billion yuan (US$4.29 billion). A total of 250,000 autos were sold under the program during the nine-month period. (October 11, 2010)