The long-awaited stimulus plan for private purchases of new-energy vehicles is slated to come out by the end of May, and the plan will be tested in five cities, rather than nationwide, the Shanghai Securities News reported Friday.

The five cities are Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chongqing and Wuhan, the report said.

According to earlier media reports, the incentives for new-energy vehicles would be very similar to last year's pilot project for public sector buyers - private electric car buyers in certain selected cities could get incentives of up to 60,000 yuan ($8787.86).

However, if the subsidy plan is applied to only a few cities, it won't fully boost the new-energy vehicle consumption in China, said Kevin Wale, GM China's president and chief executive. Chinese consumers need some time to get familiar with driving new-energy vehicles, and the construction of charging stations also will take time, he added.

Feng Fei, director of the Research Department of Industrial Economy under the Development Research Center of the State Council, is optimistic about new-energy automotive parts suppliers.

"Over the last decade, China has invested about 2 billion yuan in the new-energy vehicle field and mastered many core technologies. China's promotion of new-energy vehicles is bound to spur on a rapid growth and large-scale application of related auto parts technology," said Feng.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued a document on May 26 to clarify the technology progress and innovation direction of China's new-energy vehicle field.

On May 5, the State Council, China's cabinet, urged relevant departments to launch implementation details of the incentive plan for new-energy vehicles by the end of May.

The subsidy plan was drawn up in cooperation with the MIIT, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

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