The Chinese city of Hangzhou, one of several large Chinese cities that restrict licenses for new fossil fuel-powered cars to reduce pollution and traffic congestion, is easing the curbs on eligibility for car ownership in an effort to boost flailing consumer spending and the economy, business news outlet Caixin Global reports.
Hangzhou, alongside Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, has had such restrictions for nearly a decade. Hangzhou's city authorities have been granting just 80,000 new license plates for gasoline and diesel-powered cars per year, in a lottery. To compare, in February 2023, more than 800,000 residents registered to take part in the lottery to win fewer than 5,000 license plates, Caixin notes.
The city government started easing the restrictions this year, allowing residents who haven't won the lottery more than 72 times to directly apply for a license plate for a gasoline or a diesel-fueled passenger vehicle.
The aim of the eased restrictions is to boost consumer spending and the economy. This year, China has had an up-and-down path to recovery from the Covid-related lockdowns that lasted nearly three years. The crisis in the real estate sector and the patchy manufacturing output recovery have weighed on the Chinese economy and its near-term prospects.
While electric vehicle (EV) sales in China continue to increase, the overall car market has been struggling, also due to the license plate limitations in big cities, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, wrote in an article early this year, Caixin noted.
Cui has called for a nationwide cancellation of the restrictions on licenses for fossil fuel-powered passenger vehicles. If the restrictions were to be lifted, China's passenger car sales would rise by around 10 million units over five years, Cui says.
Higher gasoline and diesel sales will lead to a rise in China's fuel demand, too.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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Comments
First the U.K. decided to delay the ban on selling ICEs from 2030 to 2035 then Chinese cities have decided to ease gasoline car registrations to boost the economy. Even the EU was forced to ease the use of coal-powered electricity generation plants to help offset rising coasts of energy prices and aid the economy.
The lesson to be learnt is that energy security and the needs of the economy always take precedence over climate change goals.
Dr Mamdouh G Salameh
International Oil Economist
Global Energy Expert