Beijing Extends 2026 Car Trade-In Subsidy Applications to 10 January 2027

What Changed

On 29 October 2026 the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce published Announcement Jing Shang Liu Tong Zi No. 15 of 2026, adjusting the timetable of the city's 2026 automobile trade-in subsidy programme:

• New application deadline: 10 January 2027, 24:00 — extended from the previous 30 November 2026.
• Corrections to submitted applications (missing or non-conforming documents) are accepted until 20 January 2027, 24:00.
• The qualifying documents themselves must still be dated between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026. The extension applies to the paperwork window, not to the purchase window.

Applications go through the city's dedicated trade-in subsidy web portal, the Lvjiao Cheliang WeChat mini-program, or the Jingtong app.

The Subsidy Itself, Unchanged

The announcement adjusts timing only; the 2026 subsidy standards stay as published earlier in the year:

• Scrap an old car and buy a new-energy vehicle: 12% of the new car's invoice price, capped at 20,000 yuan.
• Scrap an old car and buy a fuel car of 2.0 litres or less: 10% of the invoice price, capped at 15,000 yuan.
• Transfer an old car out of your name and buy a new-energy vehicle (the replacement-update channel): 8% of the invoice price, capped at 15,000 yuan.

Two conditions matter for anyone planning around the deadline. The programme runs under a total budget cap, first-come, first-served, until funds are exhausted — an extension of the calendar does not extend the money. And each applicant can use each channel once in the year.

Why the Transfer Channel Matters to the Used-Car Business

For the replacement-update subsidy, the old car must be transferred out of the applicant's name with a standardised used-car sales invoice, which routes the vehicle into the licensed used-car market rather than to a dismantler. Municipal programmes of this kind have been one of the steadiest feeders of used-car supply in China's biggest cities all year: every subsidised new-car purchase of this type puts a trade-in vehicle on the market.

Beijing's extension effectively moves part of that supply wave into December 2026 and the first days of January 2027, since documents dated up to 31 December still qualify. For buyers sourcing Chinese used cars, that points to a normal seasonal pattern — more trade-in units reaching wholesale channels around the turn of the year — rather than a structural shift.

What To Watch

• Whether the budget holds. First-come-first-served means late applicants in January may find the envelope already committed; the bureau's portal is the authoritative source on remaining funds.
• Other cities. Beijing is the first of the major municipalities to push its application window past year-end this cycle; whether Shanghai, Guangzhou or Shenzhen follow with similar adjustments is worth tracking through November.
• The 2027 programme. This announcement concerns the 2026 scheme only. National-level guidance for 2027 trade-in support had not been published at the time of writing.

Sources: Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce, Announcement Jing Shang Liu Tong Zi No. 15 of 2026 (29 October 2026), sw.beijing.gov.cn; Guangming Daily report, 30 October 2026; china.com.cn report, 30 October 2026.