China’s 2026 Rural NEV Catalog Stretches to 250,000 RMB — Xiaomi SU7 Included and Trade-In Subsidy Cap Lifted

Five central ministries jointly launched the 2026 Going-to-the-Countryside NEV campaign on June 18, releasing a 155-model approved catalog that pulls in Wuling, Xiaomi, BYD, XPeng, Changan, GAC Aion, Leapmotor, Geely and Chery. The 2026 edition is the most aggressive iteration since the program’s 2020 inception — and unlike prior years, it now reaches well above the 100,000 RMB band, with Xiaomi SU7 making the list for the first time.

Three Things Actually New This Year

The headline shift is reach. Premium models are now approved alongside the Wuling Hongguang MINI EV / Bingo / Cloud bench that historically defined rural campaigns. Xiaomi SU7’s inclusion at the higher end signals that rural buyers are no longer expected to settle for sub-80,000 RMB econoboxes. Second, the trade-in subsidy quota cap has been lifted inside the rural zone — fixing a 2025 bottleneck where many rural dealerships ran out of subsidy quota by mid-Q3. Third, county- and township-level charging infrastructure funding is now bundled directly into the campaign, with up to 30% capex subsidies available to State Grid, China Southern Power Grid, TGood, Star Charge and TELD if they hit rural-coverage milestones.

Who’s on the List, Who Benefits Most

Wuling has eight catalog entries — the most of any brand — and stands to gain the most on a unit basis after a -41% first-five-months performance. BYD spreads across six volume models (Seagull, Dolphin, Yuan Plus, Qin Plus DM-i, Song Plus DM-i, Han DM-i). Other notable inclusions: XPeng MONA M03, Changan Lumin and Qiyuan A05, GAC Aion S/Y/Y Plus, and Leapmotor T03/C01/C10/C11. Joint-venture brands stayed mostly off the catalog this round — Toyota bZ3X, GAC Toyota’s bZ3X Knight Edition and FAW Volkswagen ID.4 Crozz are not yet listed, though SAIC-Volkswagen ID.ERA 5S PHEV is reportedly under review for a Q3 amendment.

The Stack Math

The standard national trade-in subsidy can stack with the rural-zone top-up with no quota cap, and provincial top-ups (where available) can layer on top. Effective discounts on a 100,000 RMB EV can exceed 25,000 RMB before any dealer-level promotion. For the full 155-model catalog, the policy stack mechanics, the county-charger build-out targets and provincial-pilot timing, see iEVChina’s full breakdown of the 2026 China NEV rural campaign.

Source: Autohome.com