Comments by a senior government official published on Sunday signaled that China might soon join the UK and France in planning to ban gas-powered cars. Both countries recently announced they would prohibit the production of diesel and petrol cars by 2040. “Some countries have made a timeline for when to stop the production and sales of traditional fuel cars,” said industry vice-minister Xin Guobin in an article published by Xinhua, China’s official news agency. “The ministry has also started relevant research and will make such a timeline with relevant departments. Those measures will certainly bring profound changes for our car industry’s development,” he said, predicting “turbulent” times ahead for the auto industry. Were China to adopt such a policy and provide a deadline, it would lend new force to efforts to end the reign of the internal combustion engine, according to the Financial Times.