China's new emissions rules take scalpel to bloated auto industry

Move expected to consolidate weak players as foreign investment reform looms

20190628N Beijing cars

Over 100 companies manufacture automobiles in China, many of them small or midsize players. © Reuters

SHUNSUKE TABETA, Nikkei staff writer

BEIJING -- China debuts one of the world's strictest standards for automobile emissions on Monday to reduce the country's notorious air pollution, a move some say also is designed to curb the runaway expansion of its automaking sector.

Over 100 companies make cars in China, many of which are small to midsize players with little cash or technological prowess. The Chinese government wants to pare the excess capacity and create an industry characterized less by volume and more by quality.

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