ZCZC
BCN-32
CHINA-AUTO-ECONOMY
China’s Hainan province to end fossil fuel car sales in 2030
BEIJING, March 6, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – China’s southern Hainan island will end
sales of fossil fuel-only cars in 2030, officials said, becoming the first
province to announce a target end date for a transition away from gas
guzzlers.
Beijing announced plans in 2017 to phase out petrol vehicles across the
nation, but it did not set a date, as the country aims to cut pollution and
reduce its dependence on imported oil.
Starting in 2030, sales of fossil fuel cars will be prohibited in Hainan,
the provincial government said Tuesday, with officials saying they aim to hit
President Xi Jinping’s goal for the island to become a “civilised ecology
test zone.”
Known as China’s Hawaii thanks to its resorts and tropical beaches, Hainan
is set to become the country’s largest free trade zone.
It also hopes to serve as a test area for some of Beijing’s ambitious
policies like fostering hi-tech industries and attracting international
tourist dollars.
China remains at the forefront of the electric car revolution, with
hundreds of homegrown electric automakers sprouting and ample government
subsidies to push consumers into new energy vehicles.
New energy vehicles include fully electric cars, as well as plug-in
hybrids and fuel cell vehicles, the government said.
Hainan will start its replacement policy by requiring 100 percent of
retired government cars, public buses and taxis to be replaced with new
energy vehicles. That will then extend to tourist buses, rental cars and
light trucks.
The government said the ban on private fossil fuel vehicles will ensure
consumers replace gas guzzlers with greener cars by 2030.
It also laid out plans to build a larger electric charger and fuel cell
filing network.
BSS/AFP/HR/1330