| Car makers face higher EU disposal standard |
| Last Updated(Beijing Time):2006-12-29 11:37 |
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Chinese auto makers' ambitious plan to drive into the European Union as part of their expansion moves may face obstacles by the enactment of a higher disposal standard in the EU next year.
From January 1, car makers will be asked to use recyclable material that accounts for a minimum 85 percent of the new models' weight before they can launch sales in EU countries, said a new regulation approved by the EU members. Also, at least 95 percent of the materials should be recyclable.
The new regulation will raise the access threshold for Chinese car makers such as Brilliance Automobile Holding Corp and Great Wall Automobile Group to tap the fledging EU markets with their price competitive models.
It may also delay their export plans because of the wide gap between them and their overseas counterparts in meeting the requirement.
In China, recycling stations are now in charge of dismantling disposed cars. They sell the recyclable materials, accounting for only 20 percent of the total materials for reproduction compared with 100 percent recoverability rate for each car in Germany.
An auto analyst said despite Chinese government's efforts on dealing with broken vehicles for environmental protection, the recycling industry still suffers from low efficiency, low utilization of machines and causes serious pollution.
The Chinese government called on all auto makers and importers to be responsible for collecting and recycling vehicles from 2010. It asks them to ensure that the recoverability rate of each car produced in China or imported be at least 80 percent while not less than 75 percent of materials should be able to be reused.
From 2017, the recycling standard will eventually rise to 95 percent and 85 percent respectively.
Yang Bo, vice president of Brilliance Automobile Co Ltd, said "it (the requirement) is a challenge for us."
Brilliance said it pumped extra funds to upgrade its technology to use more environmental protection materials before signing deals to export 158,000 units to the European markets in the the next five years as the largest Chinese vehicle exporter to that region.
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