China Plans To Fully Ban Fossil Fuels In Favour Of Electric Cars To Control Pollution By 2040

China seems to be finally taking strong action to curb its massive pollution problem. The country¡¯s vice minister of Industry and IT, Xin Guobin, has announced that the government is formulating a timetable to completely phase out fossil fuel vehicles.

There¡¯s no word yet on when the ban will kick in, but experts believe it will aim for 2040, the same time that France and UK hope to be fossil fuel-free.

It¡¯s not just China¡¯s environment that stands to benefit however, but also its automobile industry and economy. The idea is to not only take petrol guzzlers off the road, but also reduce the country¡¯s dependence on coal power.

That, in turn, will be a huge boon to the country¡¯s burgeoning electric car industry, which has already begun to make a name for itself. Additionally, foreign companies looking to keep a hold on China¡¯s market will be forced to partner with local manufacturers.

China only has one car to about every five people, a lower ratio than in most other countries, but the sheer size of its population has created both a traffic and emissions problem in the country. There were an estimated 290 million vehicles on its roads in 2016, making it the largest car market in the world.

So whether other country¡¯s governments agree with tamping down on fossil fuels or not, automakers across the world will have to at least partly go green if they want to get a single piece of the pie.