Chinese electric vehicles shares surge as government mulls petrol car ban
SHANGHAI: China’s newenergy auto firms saw shares surge in Monday morning trade, extending recent strong gains, after a government official said over the weekend that China had begun looking at a ban on traditional petrol- engine cars.
Chinese electric- car maker BYD Co Ltd, backed by US billionaire Warren Buffet, saw its shares jump, while lithium products maker Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co Ltd rose more than 5 per cent to a record high.
China has begun studying when to ban the production and sale of petrol cars, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday citing a vice minister who it said predicted ‘ turbulent times’ for automakers as they were forced to adapt.
Xin Guobin, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, did not say when the world’s largest auto market would implement such a ban. Britain and France will ban new petrol and diesel cars from 2040.
Xin said the ministry had started research and will look to draw up a timeline with relevant departments.
An index tracking new-energy vehicles makers shot up nearly 4 per cent early on Monday to a 14- month high, having gained over 20 per cent this year.
BYD jumped 4.1 per cent and 5.9 per cent in Shanghai and Hong Kong respectively.
Ganfeng Lithium was up over 5 per cent, having seen its shares rocket nearly 300 per cent so far this year.
China, the world’s biggest auto market, is considering a ban on fossil fuel cars in a major boost to the production of electric vehicles as it seeks to ease pollution.
The move would follow similar plans announced by France and Britain to outlaw the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 to clamp down on harmful emissions.
Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology, told a forum in the northern city of Tianjin at the weekend that his ministry has started “relevant research” and is working on a timetable for China.
“These measure s w i l l promote profound changes in the environment and give momentum to China’s auto industry development,” Xin said in remarks broadcast by CCTV state television. — Reuters