China plans to ban cars that run on gasoline or diesel
China plans to ban cars that run on gasoline or diesel
Electric vehicles
By Jessica Meyers September 11, 2017 9:11 AM
China plans to eventually ban vehicles powered by
traditional fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, as the country looks to cast
itself as a global leader of environmental initiatives and possibly become an
auto-export powerhouse.
Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information
technology, offered no clear timeline when he announced the plan over the
weekend at a forum in the eastern port city of Tianjin. But he said the ban
would greatly affect the environment and development of China’s homegrown auto
industry, according to the state-run New China News Agency.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has become one of the most
vocal advocates for the Paris accord, a 2016 global climate change initiative
championed by President Obama. President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal
this year.
China — which is the biggest investor in renewable
energy, even as it’s still the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases —
has vowed to cap its carbon emissions by 2030. The streets of Taiyuan, a
manufacturing city in the heart of China’s coal country, already are filled
with electric taxis.
California Gov. Jerry Brown, on a visit to China in June,
rallied officials in private meetings and public events to focus on electric
vehicles.
California aims to put 4 million to 5 million electric
cars on the road by 2030, Brown said at a green tech event in Nanjing. “We
aren’t going to get there until Chinese businesspeople, Chinese government
leaders make it a priority to develop batteries and electric cars,” he said.
China, already the world’s largest car market, aims for
annual sales of “new energy vehicles” — a category that includes electric,
hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles — to reach 7 million by 2025.
Some other countries have already announced bans similar
to the one China is planning.
In July, Britain said it would ban the sale of new
gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles beginning in 2040, though hybrids will
still be allowed. France has said the same. India has the audacious goal of
replacing or retrofitting all vehicles that have internal combustion engines by
2030. Mayors of cities including Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens have
said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from their cities by 2025.
China’s decision is a boon for that nation’s industrial
strategy, which seeks to bolster its economy with innovative technologies —
often gleaned from foreign companies.
“The most important driver is not just environmental,
it’s economic,” said Sophie Lu, Beijing-based China research head for Bloomberg
New Energy Finance, which analyzes energy markets. “Chinese regulators see the
success of Tesla and other Californian companies, and want to promote the same
success amongst Chinese car manufacturers.”
Global automakers also see their success in China.
General Motors, Volkswagen, Ford Motor and Renault-Nissan are all expanding
production of electric cars in Chinese cities or scouting out joint ventures to
do so.
Tesla Inc. chief Elon Musk took a quiet trip to China in
April, reportedly to push for a deal to make electric vehicles in Shanghai.
Last year, total vehicle sales in China reached 28
million, up 13.7% from the previous year, according to IHS Markit.
To tap into that market in a big way, U.S. automakers
will need electric and electrified vehicles in their lineups, said Michelle
Krebs, executive analyst at AutoTrader.
“Regardless of what we do here in the U.S. on a federal
level, U.S. automakers will continue to develop those vehicles because they
can’t ignore the China market,” she said. “It’s huge, and it’s where their
future growth and future profits will come from.”
Comments
Post a Comment