(Yicai Global) Jan. 13 -- Shares in BYD, China's biggest new-energy vehicle maker, surged by the 10 percent daily limit today after it revealed plans to launch a new car in summer and national authorities said they had no plans to "significantly" decrease subsidies for NEVs this year.

Bar a less-than-one-hour interlude early in the morning session, the Shenzhen-based firm's stock [SHE:002594] spent the entire day at its upper threshold of CNY51.61 (USD7.48) a share.

BYD will launch its new Han model, which holds a new longer-life lithium-ion phosphate battery, in June, China Securities Journal cited Chairman Wang Chuanfu as saying at the China EV100 Forum on Jan. 11.

The firm will begin mass production of the batteries in March, he added, saying they will give the Han a 600 kilometer range and be able to rack up lifetime mileage of over 1 million kilometers. That is considerably more than the typical EV and should prove a future boon for China's second-hand electric car industry, which is plagued by rapid depreciation caused by batteries with a short life span.

China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Yu also said this morning that the country's NEV subsidy policy would remain stable and not significantly decline this year.

The news could spark new life into BYD, which was the world's largest NEV seller before a 7.4 percent dip in sales to just 229,506 units last year paved the way for American rival Tesla to overtake with its record-high 367,500.

Editor: James Boynton