A NEW subsidy policy is intended to promote the use of energy-saving automobiles, according to a report by the China Securities Journal yesterday.

The previous policy, which expired at the end of last year, provided a subsidy of 50,000 yuan (US$8,151) to automakers for every hybrid vehicle sold, while 60,000 yuan was provided for every electric vehicle sold.

Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology, said in March that a new subsidy policy for energy-saving cars will be out in the first half of this year.

The newspaper cited a ministry official as saying that the policy will need final authorization from the State Council, or China's Cabinet, after several government departments passed a draft version of the policy.

Li Weili, chief of the manufacturing division under the State Information Center, said the new policy may last until 2015 at least.

He said detailed provisions regarding subsidies for electric cars will likely be implemented before the end of next month, although provisions related to hybrid vehicles may come out later.

Standards for the evaluation of hybrid vehicle energy consumption have yet to be created, which has postponed the creation of special subsidies for hybrid vehicles based on how much fuel they save, Li added.

The ministry will support hybrid vehicles with lower energy use, which has led many automakers to boost research and development of such vehicles.