The Chinese government is evaluating a programme to phase out the production and sale of petrol and diesel cars. If this were to happen, the fate of the internal combustion engine car would be sealed.
No, China will not be banning petrol and diesel cars, at least not until 2040. It is, however, drawing up a possible roadmap for the gradual phase-out of the internal combustion engine. Such a decision would make the Asian giant the world's largest market for electric and hybrid vehicles.
This was confirmed by the vice minister of industry and information technology (IT), Xin Guobin, who announced, during a forum held in Tianjin, the government's intention to establish a date and a programme for phasing out the production of petrol and diesel cars, clearly favouring the electric market and the two leading domestic carmakers, BYD Co and Baic Motor.
"A ban in a market as large as China's cannot happen before 2040," said Liu Zhijia, assistant director at Chery Automobile Co., during the Frankfurt Motor Show, as reported by Bloomberg.
If all of this were officially confirmed, China could lead the revolution in the transport sector, following the recent decisions by France and Great Britain. To date, the only country to have an already mature market for electric and hybrid vehicles is Norway. Sales of new zero-emission vehicles have reached 37 per cent, while diesel has now stalled at 13 per cent. Today, Norway and the Netherlands, together with China and the United States, account for 70 per cent of the global market.
But it will most likely be China that leads the market. In 2016, more than 500,000 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles were sold, an increase of 53 per cent compared to the previous year. In the first six months of 2017, Beijing Electric Vehicle reportedly sold 46,855 new vehicles, followed by Baic Motor with 36,084 units. For comparison, across the whole of Europe in the first three months of 2017, 212,945 alternatively fuelled vehicles (including gas-powered ones) were registered, an increase of 37.6 per cent (Acea data).
Reducing serious air pollution problems, drastically cutting climate-altering emissions, and the commitment to upholding the Paris Agreement could therefore transform the Asian giant into the new El Dorado for carmakers. And this could set the agenda for the definitive abandonment of internal combustion engine cars.
