China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC, 国家发展改革委) said on 30 September 2026 that a fourth batch of RMB 62.5 billion in trade-in funds had gone to local governments. That completes the full-year allocation of RMB 250 billion. In this article, we look at the allocation and the January–August results the NDRC published.
A fourth batch of RMB 62.5 billion completes the 2026 total of RMB 250 billion
According to the NDRC release, the NDRC and the Ministry of Finance (财政部) recently sent the fourth 2026 batch of ultra-long special treasury bond funds for consumer goods trade-ins to local governments. With this batch, all RMB 250 billion for the year has been allocated.
The release, from the NDRC’s Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection (环资司), says the scope, subsidy standards and implementation methods were optimised this year. It does not give the amounts of the first three batches.
Trade-in-related sales reached RMB 1.55 trillion in January–August
From January to August 2026, sales of goods linked to the trade-in programme reached RMB 1.55 trillion, the NDRC said. Subsidies benefited 208 million person-times (人次).
Car trade-ins totalled 5.353 million vehicles. Trade-ins of six categories of home appliances reached 91.458 million units, and purchases of new digital and smart products reached 108 million items.
| Item | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Fourth batch of funds | RMB 62.5 billion | 2026 |
| Full-year funds, all allocated | RMB 250 billion | 2026 |
| Sales of trade-in-related goods | RMB 1.55 trillion | January–August 2026 |
| Subsidy beneficiaries | 208 million person-times | January–August 2026 |
| Car trade-ins | 5.353 million vehicles | January–August 2026 |
| Home appliance trade-ins (six categories) | 91.458 million units | January–August 2026 |
| New digital and smart products purchased | 108 million items | January–August 2026 |
New energy cars topped 60 percent of new passenger car retail for five months
The NDRC said new energy passenger cars had made up more than 60 percent of new passenger car retail volumes for five consecutive months. It did not name the months.
It also said retail sales of telecom equipment, appliances with high energy-efficiency ratings and wearable smart devices kept growing rapidly. The release gives no growth rates for these categories.
The NDRC lists four tasks for the rest of the programme
According to the release, the relevant departments will guide local governments on the pace of work and on optimising fund-use plans. They will also standardise subsidy review and payment, and crack down on subsidy fraud and other violations.
Basis: allocation figures for 2026, results for January–August
- Fund figures refer to the 2026 allocation of ultra-long special treasury bonds for consumer goods trade-ins.
- Sales, subsidy and product figures cover January–August 2026.
- “Person-times” (人次) is a count of instances; the release does not give the number of individual people.
- The release gives no year-on-year comparisons.
Not disclosed in the source
- The amounts and dates of the first three 2026 batches.
- Allocation by province.
- The six home appliance categories covered.
- Year-on-year growth for any of the January–August figures.
- The total subsidy amount actually paid out.
