China Considers Sales Mandates for EVs

China is reviewing a proposal to require large carmakers to guarantee that a certain percentage of their total vehicle sales in the country are comprised of electric cars.

The plan, which emulates California’s sales mandate for zero-emission vehicles, was drafted by the National Development and Reform Commission, Bloomberg News reports. The news service says manufacturers that fall short would be required to buy credits or pay a fine equal to as much as five times the average price of credits.

The state-backed China Assn. of Automobile Manufacturers tells reporters the measure “will be good for the industry.” Separately, CAAM reports that passenger vehicle sales in China surged 26% to 1.6 million units in July. The increase was the strongest monthly growth since January 2013. Earlier this week the China Passenger Car Assn. reported the same results.

China is the world’s largest EV market already. The country’s government aims to push annual sales of EVs and other “green” vehicles to 3 million units by 2025. The country reportedly has spent 15 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) over the past seven years on subsidies to encourage the sale of so-called new-energy vehicles.