China Car Times just filled our collective pants.
The Chinese media are currently reporting that Chinese people should be preparing in their hearts for a fuel tax that could send fuel as high as 10rmb per liter. In March 2008, the Chinese government is doing away with road tax, and highway fees in favor of a new tax on fuel which would be easier to collect. Obviously 10rmb a liter is at the very, very high end of the price spectrum. Current fuel prices at the pump at 4.79rmb for 93# and 5rmb for 97# China Car Times was thinking of a modest 5rmb to 5.5rmb pricing scale including the new tax.
Sending fuel prices at the pump soaring would obviously strangle the Chinese miracle growth machine, as most of the factories are inland, and the ports are obviously by the sea. Fuel prices become higher, logistics of getting product from Factory A to Port A double, cost of products go up across the board and suddenly Chinas ‘world factory’ status starts to disappear as multinationals flock to South East Asian countries like Vietnam.
Of course, on the upside more people will take public transport, making people really only use their cars when they really have to, but what about taxi cab drivers, will their fares go through the roof too?
China Car Times believes the public transport system in 90% of Chinese cities is woefully inadequate for the population, their needs to be subways in every tier 1, and tier 2 cities, cleaner buses (emissions wise) and many more of them are required especially around peak hours. Or how about the government just stops banning electric cars from on road use? Beijing has slowly been moving the tax burden away from the peasant classes, and onto the middle classes as part of their ‘harmonious society‘ (the peasants always got bunged with massive taxes, and eventually it was always the peasants that started the revolutions) program to make the poor richer, and to keep the middle classes steady. A while back Beijing canceled the land tax that peasants had been paying for thousands of years, instead it seems they are going after the middle class pocket to make up for the gap in their treasury books.
Of course the 10rmb a liter fuel price may be several years away, we’re more than likely to see 5/6rmb late by the middle of next year, as the Chinese people aren’t at a European salary level to start paying European prices for oil at the pump yet. Managed development is something that Beijing always touted, they should think carefully about what the people can, and cant afford.
What are the thoughts of drivers in China who just happen to read CCT??
I’ll tell my driver in the morning and you might hear the screams in Qingdao…. she purposely waits till the last minute to fill up the mianbaoche and hunts down a station with 91#.
Maybe the govt is planning on giving themselves pay rises to help with the burden of more tax…..
91# ? I rarely see that!
I remember hearing LPG is around 3rmb per liter, and the quality of conversations is allegedly, not so great.
But the good news is, Sinopec and Chery just signed a deal!
Some Sinopecs have 91# but it is rare and there is always a shortage because it is about 3 mao cheaper than 93#.
Most of the new taxis and buses here in GZ are LPG dedicated. Makes sense but only if converted properly.
A good friend back home swears by LPG. From memory I saw some scooters in Shanghai using LPG too.
I can see Chery putting a 50L bomb in the boot of a QQ (I will wait for more flaming)… ROFL.
I am dissapointed in u Ashley, it might be a minute lapse of concentration on your part but I cant help but notice you have betrayed our queen and spelt ‘litre’ with liter. For Queen and country Ashley! Don’t let the rebellious yanks turn u.
LOL, i was kidding
bah - its firefox, I just see all the red underlined words presuming they are spelled wrong and change ‘em.
I lived with yanks for years, I even have a yanky accent now
damn US-centric firefox…its a love-hate relationship
Electric cars are banned from road use in China? That’s crazy talk! Seriously, electric cars are the future and the sooner China realizes this, the sooner they will they can reduce their pollution while continuing there economic boom.
Of course, widespread integration of wind and solar energy production would also help reduce pollution immensely.
China is suffering from an electricity shortage - the old power plants really cant keep up with the mega development.
Certain companies had to switch their entire company to working night shifts because of excessive air conditioning use over the summer days!
It sounds like an aggressive solar program may be a good idea. At this point in time, solar is so much cheaper now than just a few years ago. If most new construction had some capability it could go some way towards relieving the strain on the existing infrastructure.
There are some new buildings being built in Guangzhou that will feature things like solar power and wind generation so that the buildings can get most of its energy needs naturally. Its probably being done more for face than real environmental value but if the govt get behind it and keep pushing the idea then people will start changing their attitudes towards those technologies.
The problem I think is that the people/businesses with the cash to push the new technology are many of the same ones who made their money by polluting the environment the normal ways.
Maybe Gucchi needs to make solar panels. Then all these status symbol seeking people might be interested. Breathable air doesn’t seem a compelling enough reason somehow.