Big cars can also help reduce emissions, official says

Shanghai, March 26 (Gasgoo.com) In support of the recent appeal from some Chinese legislators for fuel efficient small cars, some auto experts believe that big cars can also help to reduce emissions.

China still has a big market for big cars in its current national conditions. On the one hand, China's new middle-class citizens want more mobility, power and elbow room given that 80% of them are first-time car buyers. On the other, big cars are more suitable for the road conditions in China's vast middle-west areas.

While offering incentives for consumers to buy small displacement cars is one solution to the environmental issue, auto manufacturers can also put more focus on developing fuel-efficient technologies.

"If we can make big breakthrough in key technologies, big cars have great potential to be fuel efficient, "said Rong Huikang, deputy director of the expert panel of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

Global auto-making giants are taking the lead in finding ways of reducing emissions of big cars. Honda has recently launched in China the 3.5L Accord equipped with the i-VTEC engine, -- the car features higher power with the same fuel content; Ford will introduce EcoBoost on the new Lincoln MKS flagship in 2009, and VW has pledged to lower fuel consumption of its vehicles sold in China by 20% within two years.

These companies are also exploring other ways to lower emissions including using lighter car body materials or reducing the car's weight. If Chinese automakers are quick to learn and put the latest technologies in use soon, it will be beneficial to China's automobile industry in the long run.