BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media say a Cabinet minister has announced Beijing is developing a timetable to end sales of traditional fuel cars.
The reports Sunday gave no possible target date but they come as Beijing steps up pressure on automakers to accelerate development of electric cars.
The Xinhua News Agency and the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily cited a deputy industry minister, Xin Guobin, as saying at an auto industry forum Saturday his ministry was doing "research on formulating a timetable to stop production and sales of traditional energy vehicles."
China is the world's biggest auto market by number of vehicles sold, giving any policy changes outsize importance for the global industry.
France announced in July it will stop sales of gasoline automobiles by 2040.