China's Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology announced that his ministry is working on regulation to phase out the domestic production and sale of petrol cars.
The announcement follows similar policy developments in Norway, Britain and France.
China's regulation is expected to build on an existing quota system requiring that the share of new cars sold in China increases every year.
10 September 2017: Improving battery technologies and declining cost make a transition towards electrified transport feasible. Countries are supporting this trend with subsidy programmes, or, more recently, with plans to phase out the sale of petrol cars. Joining France, Britain and Norway, China, the world’s largest market for electric cars, has announced that it is working on legislation that will set a deadline to phase out petrol powered cars in favor of electric vehicles.
Speaking at an auto forum in Tianjin, China’s Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xin Guobin stated that his ministry has begun working with regulators to develop a timeline for the phase out of domestic production and sale of petrol cars. While no deadline has been set yet, the announced regulation is expected to extend China’s existing quotas for the sale of electric vehicles. The quota system, which is due to replace the subsidies for electric vehicles currently in place, requires that at least 8% of cars sold by automakers in China in 2018 must be electric, followed by 10% in 2019 and 12% in 2020.
China’s announcement follows similar decisions in Norway, which is requiring a phase out of petrol cars by 2030, and France and Britain, which have set a deadline for 2040. Scotland’s first minister recently announced that the Scottish government will aim to phase out petrol cars by 2032. The deadline is part of a package of climate mitigation actions that also includes measures to fast-track the expansion fast charging networks in Scotland, and support to innovative industries. [Bloomberg Energy News Story][Associated Press News Story][Government of Scotland Press Release][SDG Knowledge Hub Story – Renewable Energy Projects in India, Europe Seek to Accelerate Low-carbon Energy Transition]