Development of Fuel Consumption Standards for Chinese Light-Duty Vehicles

To restrain the phenomenal increase in oil consumption in China, the Chinese government called for measures to reduce oil consumption of the road transportation sector through adopting vehicle fuel consumption standards. This paper describes the development of China's first set of fuel consumption standards for light-duty passenger vehicles. The adopted standards cover M₁ class vehicles, which, according to European definition (and adopted by China), include passenger cars, minivans, and sports utility vehicles (SUVs). In particular, we present the goal, technical background, structure, and values of the adopted standards. We also present their potential effect on oil use reduction.

The standards are set in liters of fuel consumption per 100 km for individual vehicle weight categories. The standards are maximum fuel consumption values for given vehicle weight categories. Each vehicle model that falls into a given vehicle category is required to have its fuel consumption rate below the maximum value set for the category. The standards are mandatory. That is, vehicle models will be required to meet subjected standards before entry into the marketplace. The standards are to be implemented in two phases starting in July 2005. The adopted standards will result in an overall fuel consumption reduction of 15% for Chinese new M₁ vehicle fleet between 2003 and 2008.