Chinese truck makers fined US$5.8m for emissions fraud and breaching pollution standards
Vehicle manufacturers hit by heavy penalties for exceeding emissions standards and misuse of pollution control devices
China’s environment ministry said on Tuesday it had fined two local truck makers a total of at least 38 million yuan (US$5.8 million) for manufacturing vehicles that do not meet pollution standards and for engaging in emissions fraud.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a notice that it had fined the Shandong-based Kama Automobile Manufacturing 31.7 million yuan for exceeding emissions standards in its diesel lorries and for misusing pollution control devices to pass inspections.
It also fined the Shandong Tangjun Ouling Automobile Company more than 7 million yuan after 109 of the company’s light diesel vehicles were found to have exceeded emissions standards.
The fines include confiscated revenues as well as an additional levy set at twice the value of the substandard vehicles, the ministry said.
Kama Automobiles and Tangjun Ouling could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.
The environment ministry said the move was the first time that vehicle manufacturers had been fined as a result of violations of China’s air pollution regulations, and showed the country would display “zero tolerance” for firms that break the law.
Tackling vehicle pollution has been a key element of the country’s ongoing war on pollution, especially in its big cities, with emissions from cars believed to contribute about 40 per cent of total air pollution in the capital Beijing.
