China's electric car makers' shares soar

Surge comes after government official said China had begun looking at a ban on traditional petrol-engine cars

Chinese electric car makers' stock is surging. EPA/ALEXANDER BECHER

China’s new-energy auto firms saw shares surge in Monday morning trade, extending recent strong gains, after a government official said over the weekend that China had begun looking at a ban on traditional petrol-engine cars.

The Chinese electric-car maker BYD, backed by the US billionaire Warren Buffet, saw its shares jump, while lithium products maker Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium rose more than 5 per cent to a record high.

China has begun studying when to ban the production and sale of petrol cars, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday citing a vice minister who it said predicted “turbulent times” for car makers as they were forced to adapt.

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Xin Guobin, vice minister of the ministry of industry and information technology, did not say when the world’s largest car market would implement such a ban. Britain and France will ban new petrol and diesel cars from 2040.

Mr Xin said the ministry had started research and will look to draw up a timeline with relevant departments.

An index tracking new-energy vehicles makers shot up nearly 4 per cent early on Monday to a 14-month high, having gained over 20 per cent this year.

BYD jumped 4.1 per cent and 5.9 per cent in Shanghai and Hong Kong, respectively. Ganfeng Lithium was up over 5 per cent, having seen its shares rocket nearly 300 per cent so far this year.