(Yicai) Dec. 9 -- Sales of home appliances under China's policy-backed trade-in scheme exceeded the CNY200 billion (USD27.5 billion) threshold in less than five months, according to the latest official data.

More than 29.4 million consumers enjoyed the trade-in subsidies to purchase nearly 45.9 million house appliances for a total of CNY202 billion as of Dec. 6, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Dec. 7. Devices with the highest energy efficiency level accounted for more than 90 percent of the total.

In July, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance released measures aimed at spurring China's economic recovery, including allocating CNY300 billion of ultra-long special treasury bonds for large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-in of consumer goods to boost domestic demand.

"Traditional consumer goods industries like home appliances maintain low growth rates," Deloitte said in its Deloitte China Consumer Goods and Retail Industry Overview 2024. "However, they may see new development opportunities in the future under the stimulus of the national policies such as promoting the trade-in of consumer goods and growing demand for green and healthy products."

The home appliance industry is developing towards high-end intelligence and seeking growth points from overseas markets, Deloitte noted. With the gradual advancement of the Internet of Things and the improvement of green consumption awareness, policies to promote the rapid development of green and smart house appliances are expected to upgrade the product structure of the industry.

Editor: Futura Costaglione