On December 30, 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Finance officially issued the "Notice on Implementing Large-Scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Goods Trade-in Policy in 2026" (NDRC Resource and Environment Document No. 1745, 2025), marking the continued implementation of this major initiative aimed at promoting economic rebound and improvement. Approved by the State Council, this Notice, while continuing the core framework of 2025, introduced three key optimizations regarding the scope of support, subsidy standards, and implementation mechanisms, striving to make the policy more targeted and effective. The original text is as follows:
First, optimizing the scope of support. For equipment renewal, the scope of support from 2025 was generally maintained, with additions in the area of people's livelihoods including elevator installations in old residential communities and equipment renewal in elderly care institutions; in the safety sector, additions included fire rescue, inspection, and detection equipment renewal; and in the consumer infrastructure sector, equipment renewal was added for offline commercial consumption facilities such as commercial complexes, shopping malls, department stores, and large supermarkets. For consumer goods trade-in, resources were further concentrated to enhance the "subsidy receipt rate" for key consumer goods with broad population coverage and strong spillover effects. Subsidies for vehicle retirement and renewal and vehicle replacement continued; subsidies for home appliance trade-ins also continued, with the scope focused on six product categories: refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, air conditioners, computers, and water heaters; meanwhile, the subsidy for purchasing new digital products was expanded to cover digital and smart products, including mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches (wristbands), smart glasses, and smart home products (including age-friendly home products).
Second, optimizing subsidy standards. For equipment renewal, subsidies for updating old residential elevators were changed from a fixed amount to a tiered subsidy based on the number of elevator floors (stops); in subsidies for retiring and renewing old commercial trucks, priority support was given to updating to electric trucks. For consumer goods trade-in, while keeping the maximum automobile subsidy unchanged, the fixed subsidy was changed to a subsidy based on a percentage of the vehicle price; the home appliance trade-in subsidy was adjusted to cover products with Grade 1 energy or water efficiency, subsidizing 15% of the selling price, with a maximum single-item subsidy of 1,500 yuan; the subsidy standards for digital and smart products remained the same as the previous standards for digital products.
Third, optimizing the implementation mechanism. For equipment renewal, the project application mechanism and review process were optimized, further lowering the investment threshold for project applications, increasing support for small and medium-sized enterprises, and expanding the policy's coverage. For consumer goods trade-in, the fund allocation method was optimized, full-chain implementation rules were refined, and illegal activities such as subsidy fraud and "price increases before subsidies" were strictly crackdown on. Meanwhile, in line with the requirements for building a unified national market, unified subsidy standards were explicitly implemented nationwide for vehicle retirement and renewal, vehicle replacement, trade-ins for six categories of home appliances, and purchases of four categories of digital and smart products.
Compared with the 2025 policy, the 2026 policy has the following changes:
1. Vehicle Retirement and Renewal: Shift from Fixed Amount to Percentage-Based Subsidy, Subsidy Amount Reduced for Low-Price Vehicles
2025: A fixed subsidy of 20,000 yuan was provided for replacing internal combustion engine passenger vehicles with China 4 or lower emission standards with new energy vehicles, and a fixed subsidy of 15,000 yuan for replacing them with internal combustion engine vehicles.
2026: For any passenger vehicle registered under the applicant's name, a subsidy of 12% of the vehicle price (capped at 20,000 yuan) is provided when replacing with a new energy vehicle, and 10% of the vehicle price (capped at 15,000 yuan) when replacing with an internal combustion engine vehicle.
2. Vehicle Replacement: Nationally Unified Standard, Shift from Fixed Amount to Percentage-Based
2025: The maximum subsidy for new energy vehicles was 15,000 yuan, and 13,000 yuan for internal combustion engine vehicles.
2026: A subsidy of 8% of the vehicle price (capped at 15,000 yuan) is provided for new energy vehicles, and 6% of the vehicle price (capped at 13,000 yuan) for internal combustion engine vehicles.
3. Home Appliances: Focused Product Categories, Both Subsidy Percentage and Cap Reduced
2025: Subsidies covered 12 product categories; 20% for Grade 1 energy efficiency, 15% for Grade 2, with a maximum single-item subsidy of 2,000 yuan; up to 3 air conditioner units could be subsidized.
2026: Subsidies cover 6 product categories (refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, air conditioners, computers, water heaters); 15% for products with Grade 1 energy efficiency or water efficiency, with a maximum single-item subsidy of 1,500 yuan; only one item per person is subsidized.
4. Digital and Smart Products: Expanded Product Categories, Standards Unchanged
2025: Subsidies covered 3 product categories (mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches); a 15% subsidy per item, capped at 500 yuan; the selling price of a single product must not exceed 6,000 yuan.
2026: Subsidies cover 4 product categories (mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, smart glasses); a 15% subsidy per item, capped at 500 yuan; the selling price of a single product must not exceed 6,000 yuan.
5. Other Subsidies: Continuation of Local Autonomy, Emphasis on Age-Friendly Trends
2025: Support was provided for home decoration consumer goods, including old home renovation and age-friendly modifications; trade-in subsidies were explicitly provided for e-bikes.
2026: Subsidies for purchasing new smart home products are explicitly proposed, with specific rules to be formulated locally.
Wang Cong 021-51666838
Ma Rui 021-51595780
Feng Disheng 021-51666714
Lu Yanlin 021-20707875
Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711
Zhang Haohan 021-51666752
Wang Zihan 021-51666914
Wang Jie 021-51595902
Xu Yang 021-51666760
Yang Lianting 021-51595835
Wang Zhaoyu 021-51666827
