In Shandong, coupons aim to spur consumption

Shandong province will offer new coupons worth 200 million yuan ($29.82 million) this month to spur consumer demand for cars, according to a statement released online by the Shandong Department of Commerce on Wednesday.

The coupons will be valid until the end of this month and can be used at online shops or offline stores.

"Automobiles represent 10 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods, which is an important sector to spur domestic consumer demand," said Wang Hongping, deputy head of the department.

The province released 150,000 coupons worth 500 million yuan last month to spur consumption of passenger vehicles.

For example, people who buy a new-energy car in the province can use a coupon ranging from 3,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan, depending on the price of the vehicle.

In addition, it released coupons worth 120 million yuan to promote consumption of commercial vehicles, such as cargo trucks. The valid time of these coupons has been extended to the end of the month.

Last month, the province released 200 million yuan in coupons to spur home appliance consumption. They are valid until the end of July.

Half the coupons are funded by the province; the other half are funded by the 16 cities of the province, the statement said.