The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Tuesday published the latest list for new energy cars applying to sell in China. The list, if approved after a public comment period ending February 20, would bring the number of battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles eligible for subsidies this year to 392, compared with 713 in the first two months of 2016.

It's the first time the ministry has called for a public comment on similar lists.

China has been aggressively promoting new energy vehicles to combat pollution and push forward technological innovation, spending billions of dollars in subsidies.

But some companies tried to exploit the subsidy program for unlawful gains. Seven companies got penalized on February 4.

Sales of battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles plunged 74.4 percent in January, but that's after the new regulation was issued in December 2016, which required companies to reapply for subsidies for each vehicle model, bringing sales of new models to a temporary halt, according to China's automakers association.

The list released on Tuesday includes models from BAIC Motor Corp, BYD Co. Ltd, SAIC Motor Corp. and others.

China's new energy car subsidy program was designed to gradually fade out in the first place. However, December's new regulation further gave a specific time of termination, which is set in 2020.