Vehicle testing centers face tests

Beijing's vehicle testing centers have been warned that they could lose their licenses if they fail a new annual inspection, part of an improved supervisory system to be rolled out on Thursday.

Three city departments, including the Environmental Protection Bureau, issued regulations earlier this month to increase oversight of the centers and remove more polluting cars from roads to help improve air quality.

Inspections will now be carried out annually at 35 centers in Beijing, with each center receiving a score based on the number of rule violations it discovers. The best score is zero, while the worst allowable is 12.

"We will not let vehicles that exceed emissions standards to go on the road," Ma Li, director of meteorology for the Beijing Administration of Quality and Technology Supervision, said on Monday. "The new grading system gives clear direction to the testing centers about the major issues."

The regulation says any center that falsifies data will receive a score of 12 points, which will lead directly to the suspension of its business license.

The testing centers will also be scrutinized for how stringent and consistent they are in checking vehicles for environmental compliance, among other areas of concern.

"The supervision and inspection institutions will need to conduct self-inspection and improvement for recorded points," Ma said. "During one period, an institution that accumulates up to 12 points also needs to do a self-inspection."

In 2017, the capital had made significant progress in improving its air quality by reducing major airborne pollutants and achieving national air quality goals.

Last year, Beijing had 226 days with excellent or good air quality (an air quality index reading of 100 or lower) 50 days more than in 2013, according to the environmental protection bureau.

"Environmental inspection is an important way to make sure vehicles in Beijing meet emissions standards to reduce the city's air pollution," said Lian Aiping, deputy director of the motor vehicle emission management department at the bureau.

"The regulation is also to make certain that the emissions of vehicles in daily life maintain factory standards."

The local government also curbed car emissions to reduce pollution, and implemented a new license plate lottery policy at the end of last year to reduce the number of new plates available to car buyers.

The first vehicle plate lottery result in 2018 that was released on Monday showed the winning rate was only 0.05 percent - a record low that demonstrates the difficulty of owning and operating a vehicle in Beijing.

The quota for vehicles using new energy in 2018 is 54,000, with about 150,000 applicants awaiting their notifications.

xinwen@chinadaily.com.cn