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Plan to phase out petrol-only cars

Chinese government unveils road map to a greener fleet with the focus on new hybrids and EVs. 
Posted on 27 November, 2020
Plan to phase out petrol-only cars

Japanese carmakers specialising in hybrid engines look set to benefit from China’s plans for all new vehicles sold in 2035 to be “eco-friendly”.

Chinese officials are demanding that 50 per cent of the new-vehicle market will be “new-energy” vehicles, such as electric, plug-in hybrid or fuel cell-powered, with the rest hybrids.

Automobile experts and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have worked together on a road map to change the make-up of sales. In 2019, hybrid cars accounted for only five per cent of new-vehicle trade in China. 

Under the plans, more than 95 per cent of the new-energy units being sold are set to be electric vehicles (EVs). 

Meanwhile, the only petrol-powered vehicles to be sold in 2035 will be hybrids. 

The scheme looks set to influence the hybrid ambitions of carmakers such as Toyota and Honda, with the former having already sold more one million such units in China.

In Japan, hybrid and EVs accounted for 39 per cent of new-car sales in 2019 and the government has set a goal of that figure being between 50 and 70 per cent by 2030.