The Chinese government has ordered an immediate stop of the production of 533 passenger car models that do not comply with the government’s fuel consumption standards. The move affects local Chinese car makers and foreign-Chinese joint ventures. It is yet unclear if and how production of the affected models may resume.
The entity that issued the ban is called the China Vehicle Technology Service Center (CVTSC), part of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The fuel consumption standard is called the GB19578-2014.
The standard was issued on December 22, 2014 and was implemented on January 1, 2016. The standard was not rigidly enforced because the government wanted to give car makers more time. That policy has now been abandoned, with a bang.
In most cases the production stops don’t hit the entire lineup of a car model, but only those models that do not comply with the standard. For example; an Audi A4L with a 1.4 liter engine might be not affected, while the same car with a 1.8 might be affected.
The entire list of 533 cars can be found here (in Chinese). Chinese car makers that are hit hardest include: BYD, Changan, Dongfeng, First Auto Works (FAW), Jinbei, SouEast. Foreign-Chinese joint ventures that are hist hardest include: Beijing-Benz (Mercedes-Benz), Beijing-Hyundai, Brilliance-BMW, FAW-Toyota, FAW-Volkswagen Audi, and Shanghai-Volkswagen.
Some of the joint venture models include: Audi A4L, BMW 5-Series Li, Cadillac STS, Chevrolet Sail, Hyundai Elantra, Mercedes-Benz E-Class L, Toyota Yaris, Volkswagen Tiguan (first gen).
