China Introduces New Mileage Standards For Cars
China has introduced new fuel standards for cars which
will come into effect in July 2005. The purpose of the
new standards, which have been discussed for years, will
be to cut back on China's growing demand for gasoline,
which has grown precipitously for the past three years,
largely because of strong demand for private cars among
China's growing urban population.
The new regulations, which were passed by the State Council
in September, but which were announced just recently,
require automobiles manufactured in China after July 2005
to meet new mileage standards. Implementation will be
in two phases, with a more strict second phase taking
effect in 2008. The first phase will have a one-year grace
period, giving companies time to retool their factories
for new models which fit the regulations.
The new regulations impose mileage requirements which
are more strict than those required in the US, with the
exception of the state of California. Mileage requirements
in the US have become a political football in the US,
which has made it more difficult to tighten up regulations.
Current US regulations have not been revised in twenty
years.
All major US,
European,
and Japanese
makers already have a major manufacturing presence
in China, and are currently expanding operations, in spite
of a recent fall-off in sales because of economic tightening
measures.
The new measures are designed partially to help curb
China's reliance on foreign
energy sources and develop alternative energy sources.
The government wants world carmakers to manufacture new
energy-efficient alternatives in China as soon as possible.
This writer believes that it is highly likely that GM's
fuel
cell model will be introduced in China on a trial
basis before the US.
China's energy demands are now picking up, just as the
country's domestic oil output is falling off. In the first
time in it's history, China now depends on foreign sources
for its own energy needs. Combined with turmoil in the
Middle East, this has driven oil prices to new highs.
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