China to remove 2 million govt cars from use

The majority of China's official vehicles are to be removed from use as part of government moves to reduce extravagance and promote austerity, according to a report in Beijing News.

There are more than 2 million official vehicles in the country and the withdrawal of the majority of these could mean savings of up to 100 billion yuan ($16.40 billion), according to experts quoted in the article.

Central government authorities issued a regulation on Monday aimed at curbing extravagance by Party and government organs. Among the measures announced is a ban on official vehicles that do not fulfill specific roles.

Vehicles will be allowed if they are used for law enforcement, the fulfillment of official duties, confidential communications or responding to emergencies. Those that incorporate special technologies will also be kept on. Any vehicles that do not perform one of these functions will be removed from service.

Ye Qing, deputy director of the Hubei Bureau of Statistics, told the newspaper that most of the more than 2 million official vehicles are used for purposes not mentioned in the new regulations and will therefore be removed from service.

According to investigations conducted by Ye, an official vehicle costs between 150,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan per year.

In Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, where reforms of official vehicles have been carried out, savings of more than one-third of the money spent on vehicles were made.

"Taking Hangzhou as an example, the government can save 50,000 to 70,000 yuan a year from each vehicle," Ye said.

Removing 2 million vehicles from use could save the country more than 100 billion yuan per year, Ye said.