BEIJING, July 2 -- China's first national standards on car fuel consumption has been enacted. It applies to new models of passenger cars, with a maximum of nine seats.

    Vice director of China's Standardization Administration, Sun Xiaokang said the new standards will help save energy.

    "We are encouraging a conservation-minded society through the implementation of the new standards. It guides the consumers to use economical and low fuel consumption cars," Sun said. 

    The compulsory "Limits of Fuel Consumption for Passenger Cars," aims to cut liters per 100 kilometers by 10 percent by 2008. It is expected that 200 million tons of oil will be saved by 2030.

    New car models with a weight below 3.5 tons and a minimum speed of 50 kilometers per hour, are divided into different grades, each grade has its own fuel consumption limitation.

    Manufacturers are not allowed to begin mass production if their new designs fail to comply with national fuel standards.

    For cars designed in the past, a one-year grace period to meet the standards is granted.

    Another standard that starts in 2008 requires vehicle fuel consumption to drop by another 10 percent from the first phase level.

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)