Think tank wants auto industry refocus

The government needs to readjust its guidance for the auto industry as an explosion of new cars on China’s roads aggravates the problems of pollution and congestion.
Liu Shijin, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said the government should shift its guidance to automakers from mere pursuit of output capacity to environment-friendly and energy-saving targets.
Sales of domestically-manufactured autos rose 36% year-on-year to 13.14 million units from January to September.
Although the expansion has brought an industrial boom and boosted domestic demand, it has also triggered widespread concerns over energy capacity, pollution levels and notorious traffic jams.
English.news.cn reports that in Beijing, the increasing number of private cars, along with heavy rainfall and a spurt in holiday travel, caused a record 140 traffic jams on a single Friday evening last month. In some parts of the city on that day people spent nearly two hours on what would normally have been a 15-minute commute.