China to support launching of pilot zones banning fossil fuel vehicles, MIIT

China is ready to support some eligible regions to build pilot zones than ban vehicles running on gas or diesel from driving, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced on August 20 as part of reply to a suggestion offered by China’s National People's Congress (NPC).

Urban taxis and buses will be available for the trial first, the statement revealed.

On the basis of a successful implementation of the aforesaid project, the government will study and formulate the timetable to ban the manufacturing and sales of vehicles running on traditional fuel in an overall arrangement, the MIIT add.

The latest statement may signal Chinese government's determination to whittle down fuel-burning vehicles in the future and boost the development of energy-saving and new energy vehicles (NEVs).

China has formed a relatively sound policy system that covers technology innovation, R&D, production, fiscal & tax incentives, promotion and oversight for automakers to receive market access to boost its NEV industry development, and has gained some remarkable achievements, said the MIIT.

Meanwhile, the energy-saving vehicle is also highlighted by the country, “ China adhere to the balanced development of energy-saving vehicles and NEVs,” the governmental department stated.

According to the statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China’s new energy vehicle sales volume totaled roughly 699,000 units, representing a significant growth of 40.9% compared with the same period a year ago. However, since China has whittled down subsidies on NEVs, there is also uncertainty for the NEV sector during the second half. In July, NEV sales in China edged down 4.7% to around 80,000 units, the first-time year-on-year decrease in monthly volume.