Designers of new Chinese vehicles are being urged to stoke the country's energy austerity drive by increasing fuel efficiency.

The compulsory Limits of Fuel Consumption for Passenger Cars, to be enacted by July 1, 2005, aims to cut liters per 100 kilometers consumption by 10 percent in it's first stage, Director of Standardization Administration of China Li Zhonghai said on Thursday.

The second stage, which starts in 2008, will require an additional drop of 10 percent, he added.

The national statute, following a string of regulations since September placing ceilings on industrial water and electricity use, shows China's increasing desire to economize on resources through technical means, experts said.

Speaking at a seminar to promote the new rules, Li said gasoline-burning cars are seriously polluting the air in urban areas and consuming a third of China's crude oil imports.

China imported 76 million tons of crude oil in the first eight months of the year, making up 40 percent of total domestic demand, a six percent rise on 2003. The total oil import volume is expected to hit 100 million tons in 2004, and demand may exceed 400 million tons in 2020. But only 160 to 170 million tons of that amount can be produced by China.

Xu Bamin, a senior engineer of the China Automobile Technology and Research Center, said on Sunday that fuel consumption in Chinese cars manufactured before 2001 is 20 to 30 percent higher than foreign models.

Mindful of the disparity and determined to improve air quality, China has been working to draw up fuel consumption standards since 2001, according to Xu.

The new standards detail limits of fuel consumption for new car models with a weight below 3.5 tons and speeds over 50 kilometers per hour.

For example, a light-duty vehicle between 1.2 and 1.3 tons would need to be designed to consume no more than an average of 9.5 liters of fuel for each 100 kilometers by 2008.

This will bring them up to 2002's world average fuel consumption level, Xu said. From 2008, the limit will be lowered to 8.6 liters per 100 kilometers.

For cars already designed and being manufactured, a one-year grace period to meet the new standards will be granted.

Besides this code, the country will also issue standards on fuel efficiency for other types of vehicles in the years to come, said Li.

(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2004)