New Chinese guidelines for car interior air quality to come into effect tomorrow

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai February 28) - China's first set of guidelines for passenger automobile interior air quality are to come into effect tomorrow, auto.163.com reported earlier this week. The guidelines, which are optional, aim to ease consumer concerns over the problem of interior air pollution in Chinese automobiles. They will not only affect new vehicles, but can also be used to judge old ones. They will help bring China closer to more developed countries by providing a universal set of standards for its automotive industry.

The guidelines will pose limits on the allowable amounts of benzene, toluol, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein inside automobiles, both new and old.

"A large deal of pollution comes from automobile interiors, from places such as seats, dashboards and carpets, as well as from the glues and other materials used [in the interiors]," Beijing Institute of Technology Professor Ge Yunshan, who helped draft the new guidelines, pointed out.

Despite the importance of the guidelines, there is still a large number of people in the automotive industry who are unaware of their release. For their part, several manufacturers have not made announcements regarding the guidelines to their employees, which is a sign of how little understanding there is about this kind of pollution in China.

Guangdong-based Lawyer Kuang Xin reminds consumers that, since the guidelines are not actually legal standards, they should take care when purchasing a new vehicle. If there is any doubt regarding the air quality of a vehicle, a test can be conducted to assess whether or not it meets the guidelines. However, the manufacturer is not held legally responsible if the vehicle does not meet the guidelines.

In spite of the non-legally binding nature of the guidelines, several figures in the industry, such as Zhongshan Automobile Dealers Association Deputy Chairman Wu Hao, maintain that they mark a new stage for the Chinese automotive industry. Mr. Wu believes that the new guidelines will push manufacturers to use more environmentally friendly materials for their automobiles.