China is looking to ban petrol and diesel cars

Sad news for KITT, Brum, Herbie and the automotive cast of The Italian Job

In line with the decision of the UK and France to ban the production of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, China's Vice Minister of Industry has said that plans are in place to implement a similar embargo on gas guzzlers, citing 'relevant research' although no timescale has as of yet been decided. The BBC broke the news a few days ago, and also made sure to hint that with a whopping 28 million cars being produced in China last year – a virtual third of the global total – this prohibition could have major implications for the country's battle against pollution.

The future?

China has plenty of precedent with alternative transport options that no doubt will come in useful once the rollout of this scheme has commenced.

In addition to the widespread acceptance of charge 'n' go vehicles like e-bikes, Chinese-owned car company Volvo is leading the charge towards more environmentally friendly transport with plans to sell around 1 million electric cars by 2025. The Chinese Government also has hopes that over the next eight years electric battery cars and plug-in hybrids will account for around a fifth of vehicle sales.

Although we're by no means omniscient, it seems pretty obvious that Elon Musk must be rubbing his hands with glee right now (especially considering he's looking to open a Tesla factory in Shanghai). The revolution is here, and by the looks of things, it's going to be electrified.

Hit '阅读原文' and find out how to get dibs on an electric car to drive right here, right now.

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