CHINA has made a substantial move to advance the development of automobiles powered by new energies amid concerns about energy conservation and environmental protection.
New rules for manufacturers were issued on Thursday by the country's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, after seven months of public discussion.
New-energy automobiles were defined as hybrid cars, battery electric vehicles, fuel-cell electric vehicles, hydrogen-fueled vehicles and vehicles powered by other new types of fuel.
Professor Zha Daojiong, director of the Center for International Energy Security at Renmin University of China in Beijing, told Xinhua news agency the regulation came out against a background of increasing domestic and international energy demands.
The new rules coincided with a sharp rise in gasoline prices by the NDRC to 500 yuan per ton, a rise of almost 10 percent, to lessen the gap between soaring international crude prices and state-set domestic oil prices.
The document said China would accelerate the research, development and production of new-energy vehicles.
Auto enterprises applying to make vehicles powered by new energies should have adequate research, production and after-sale service and need to ensure the reliability of the cars, it said.
"Enterprises wanting to manufacture new-energy cars should pay attention that their development of new types of energy should be truly energy-efficient rather than only new in name," Zha said.