China has started studying when to ban the production and sale of cars using standard fuels, the official Xinhua news agency reported, pointing out comments by the vice industry minister, who forecasted “turbulent times” for automakers forced to adjust.
Xin Guobin did not provide information on when China, the world’s biggest automobile market, would carry out such a ban. The UK and France have stated they will prohibit new petrol and diesel cars from 2040.
“Some nations have made a timeline for when to stop the production and sales of standard fuel cars,” stated Xin, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, at an automobile industry occasion in the city of Tianjin on Saturday.
“The ministry has also begun relevant research and will make such a timeline with relevant departments. Those steps will certainly bring extensive modifications for our car industry’s development,” he stated.
To combat air pollution and close a competitive space between its newer domestic automakers and their worldwide rivals, China has set goals for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to make up at least a fifth of Chinese vehicle sales by 2025.
Xin stated the domestic automobile market faced “turbulent times” throughout the years to 2025 to make the switch towards new energy vehicles, and contacted the nation’s automakers to adapt to the challenge and change their techniques appropriately.
Prohibiting the sale of petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles would have a considerable influence on oil need in China, the world’s second-largest oil customer.
Last month, state oil major China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) stated China’s energy need will peak by 2040, later than the former projection of 2035, as transportation fuel usage increases through the middle of the century.
