A garbage-truck maker and a sports-car startup are the top candidates to receive permits to manufacture electric vehicles in China as part of the government's push to encourage innovation in the auto industry, according to people with knowledge of the process.

A panel of experts appointed by the National Development and Reform Commission, which oversees the approval of new investment projects, has concluded its technical review of Jiangsu Aoxin New Energy Automobile Co and Beijing CH-Auto Technology Co, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The NDRC may soon announce a decision, which hasn't been finalized, the people said, without being more specific.

The NDRC said that it doesn't comment on applications in process. A representative for CH-Auto declined to comment, while calls to Aoxin's main line weren't answered.

Companies that are seeking the special license to produce EVs have to clear the evaluation, which will rate them in terms of their capabilities in research and development and manufacturing. So far, only two firms－Beijing Electric Vehicle Co and Hangzhou Changjiang Passenger Vehicle Co－have received permission under the program, which was announced in June 2015 to encourage companies outside the auto industry to provide competition to traditional carmakers.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is considering restricting the number of startup EV makers to a maximum of 10, said Dong Yang, an executive vice-president at the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers who meets regularly with the industry's officials. The MIIT didn't respond to a faxed request for comment.

Bloomberg