Mexico Vows To Set New Efficiency Rules For Autos

Mexico will limit imports of inefficient used cars and encourage low-carbon technology to reduce its overall volume of tailpipe exhaust, the energy ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry said it was also mulling regulations that would for the first time set a national standard for auto emissions. Such standards would be at the “vanguard” of international best standards, the agency said.
Officials hope to slowly purge heavy, inefficient autos from among the roughly 21 million cars now on the road in Mexico. The nation’s auto fleet is expected to rise by more than 14 million vehicles by 2017.

Only 1 percent of Mexican automobiles currently use alternative fuel, the ministry said.

The new importation rules will aim to “avoid the accelerated aging of the Mexican car fleet,” the agency said in a statement.

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