China Imposes Tough New Fuel-Efficiency Standards On Cars, Vans, SUVs

[hatrack]

"Environmentalists received a huge push from an unlikely source last week. Belittling concerns from auto manufacturers, China, whose environmental record is among the worst in the world, set fuel-economy standards on sport utility vehicles, vans and new cars.
Tougher fuel-economy standards have been long-time goals in the United States, and China’s decision could make the push for higher fuel economy in the United States easier. If China can set fuel-efficiency standards, surely the United States can do so too.

China’s decision to impose fuel-economy standards stems not from concerns over global warming or asthma rates among city populations, but from the political reality of oil. Oil prices around the world have increased as China has grown. China’s fuel-economy measure is just a beginning of a policy designed to lessen its dependence on foreign oil.

Certainly, China’s dictatorial government and jade-fisted decision-making is not to be admired. In a democracy such as ours, sweeping changes are more difficult to bring about. But at least in this instance, China’s plan will not only benefit the Chinese people but also the rest of the world. China has done what the United States should have done 15 years ago. When powerful governments make demands on innovation with focused support, progress will be made. The United States has made such demands before during the space race and seatbelt development."

EDIT

http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2004/09/29/10413

[phantom power]

1. I doubt it will influence politicians. They've proved they have no shame.

But it likely will influence the car companies. All this pissing and moaning they do is just a negotiating tactic. They keep doing it because we let them get away with it.

If China stands by this, I predict the Big Three will suck it up and produce cars to meet those standards, simply because they wouldn't let it stand in the way of 1.3 billion potential new customers.

[tech3149]

2. I think from what I've seen

that the people of China see the ill effects of the industrialization. The government may be a bottleneck, but they can't deny that to move forward they need a source of power and need to use it wisely. Greed will temper progress, but progress can't be stopped. As far as domestically, I've already notified those manufacturers that I won't even consider a new purchase until they can offer a 30% increase over what I have now. I currently drive a 98 Honda that has EPA mileage figures of 32/37 mpg. My current driving gets me just about 40 mpg on anything but the shortest around-town trip. I have no more money for the Big Three until they can give me something better than a Prius at the same or lower cost. I know it's possible but not strived for because it's cheaper and more profitable to make incremental gains with more frequent sales.

[fedsron2us]

3. Its more about the price of oil than any environmental concerns

<snip>

"China, which has seen its consumption of oil rise by a million barrels a day in the past year, is particularly vulnerable. The country has had to pay $19billion extra this year in higher oil costs, according to Andy Xie at Morgan Stanley. "China's overall oil bill is running at $89 billion, or 5.3pc of GDP, twice as high as the global average," he said."

<snip>

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2004/09/29/cnoil29.xml&sSheet=/money/2004/09/29/ixcity.html