Three Chinese departments on Wednesday issued a notice targeting specific subsidy measures for the renewal of new-energy city buses and battery replacements, aiming to strengthen the expansion of large-scale equipment upgrades and the consumer goods trade-in program.

The notice, jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transport and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), proposes to utilize ultra-long special treasury bonds to provide fixed subsidies for urban bus operators to upgrade new-energy city buses and replace power batteries.

It encourages the selection of appropriate new-energy city bus models based on factors such as changes in passenger flow and the development of the urban public transport sector, with an average subsidy of 80,000 yuan ($11,068) per vehicle.

For vehicles opting to replace power batteries, the average subsidy per bus is set at 42,000 yuan, per the notice.

The measures came amid the country's continuous efforts to boost domestic demand, as responsible authorities are expanding the implementation of large-scale industrial equipment upgrading and durable consumer goods trade-in programs.

Chinese authorities in January announced a raft of measures to expand the scope of the consumer goods trade-in program amid a drive to boost domestic demand and spur economic growth.

China will increase the issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds and continue to support the implementation of the equipment upgrading and consumer goods trade-in programs, according to a conference back then.

In 2025, China will allocate 300 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds to further expand the consumer goods trade-in program, doubling the funding from the previous year, Li Chunlin, deputy director of the NDRC, said at a press conference on Monday.

The first installment of 81 billion yuan was distributed to local governments in early January, Li added. In 2024, China allocated 150 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds to local governments to support the consumer goods trade-in program, spurring sales of automobiles, home appliances, home renovations and electric bicycles to surpass 1.3 trillion yuan, according to Li.