China’s EV Sales Quotas May Be Rolled Back

Wary of sales targets being “too high,” the auto industry is urging China to push back its EV sales quotas.

byChristian Gilbertsen|
China’s EV Sales Quotas May Be Rolled Back
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China may roll back proposed production quotas for more new electric vehicles sales, Reuters reports, after Beijing got pushback from the automotive industry. The original draft of the proposal—which came out in September—mandates that eight percent of new car sales be from plug-in hybrids or full EVs in 2018, ten percent in 2019, and 12 percent  in 2020. Apparently, the rollback would only delay 2018's proposed sales mandate by one year. 

The argument the automakers are relying on is not a new one by any means—they claim these sales targets are too high and "could hurt [their] interests," Reuters reports. But considering that EVs and plug-in hybrids only accounted for 1.8 percent of new car sales last year, a jump by 6.2 percent is significant.

An Jin, chairman of Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group (JAC Motor), said, "Whether the whole market can hit this quota by 2018 depends a lot on the strength of government policy. If it's strong then we should be able to surpass the targets. An added, "If you consider China's infrastructure and the transformation of China's auto sector, then perhaps the pace will have to slow."

According to two executives who are intimate with the proposed draft changes, the government may try and cut the quota by two percent each year or "push back each target by a year." Either way, since the proposal is still in draft form, revisions can still be made.

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