Photo: VCG

Shanghai will launch a series of measures to stimulate the city's consumption, which has been hit by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

It has granted subsidies to local automobile buyers in a bid to lift automobile consumption in the city, local commerce authority said at a press conference on Thursday.

Buyers of new-energy vehicle NEV, for instance, can enjoy an extra 5,000-yuan ($707.1) charging subsidy apart from existing preferential policies, said Hua Yuan, head of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

The city also increases the quota of new car license plates to boost the vehicle market, Hua said, adding that the city will issue 40,000 new plates from March till the end of the year.

Shanghai will hold a shopping festival containing over 700 online and offline campaigns. The two-month shopping spree that will convene between May and June will invite Walmart, Takashimaya, Bailian Group, and other leading shopping malls and retail giants from across the city to offer local consumers coupons and discounts.

Online consumption is significant. Shanghai's trade volume of online shopping increased by 19.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, showing its strong online consumption capacity amid the pandemic. 

During the festival, leading domestic e-commerce platforms like Taobao, Tmall, and JD.com will hold promotion campaigns targeting the city's customers.

To support the gradually resuming tourism industry, Shanghai launched a "tour e-passport" for travelers ahead of this year's five-day Labor Day vacation, local tourism authority said Thursday.

The e-passport that provides coupons and special offers at some renowned local hotels, restaurants, and shopping malls, is now available on the app Youshanghai (English: 'visit Shanghai'), and will be available on the UnionPay app from April 27, said Cheng Meihong, deputy head of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.