There were both direct subsidies and policies put in place -- such as the license places (which are otherwise hard to get in major cities like Beijing because o

There were both direct subsidies and policies put in place -- such as the license places (which are otherwise hard to get in major cities like Beijing because of efforts to reduce air pollution which was really bad; so for example, you can only drive your car every other day depending on the last digit of your license place (even/odd). However EVs were exempt from this restriction immediately making them extremely popular and cost-effective.