China Broadens “Green” Car Push to Include Conventional Hybrids

China has changed its mind about "green" car policies that favor only plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars.

Now the government also wants to hike the proportion of conventional hybrids to 25% of passenger vehicle sales by 2030, Bloomberg News reports. It cites Technology Roadmap for Energy Saving and New Energy Vehicles, a planning report prepared for China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The new strategy aims to bolster the sale of conventional hybrids to 8% of new-car volume by 2020 and to 20% by 2025.

The goal marks an about-face for China’s central government. For years it has ignored plugless hybrids, whose relatively small batteries limit their electric-only range, Bloomberg notes. Instead, the government has focused incentives on plug-in hybrids, whose larger batteries give them more range in electric mode, and electric-only vehicles.

The broader policy is seen as helping China’s auto industry meet the government’s future fuel economy targets. The country requires carmakers to lower the average fuel consumption of their vehicles to 5 liters per 100 km (47 mpg) by 2020 from 6.9 liters per 100 km (34 mpg) currently.