Clean Air Act in China, exemption off for Aston Martins, McLarens, Morgans, Lamborghinis

China’s new Clean Air Act came into effect in March 2017 and this affected the high-end super sports car manufacturers who in the past had been exempt from the Chinese environmental rules that measure whether engines meet emissions limits after clocking up  99.42miles (160km).

Aston Martins, Lamborghinis, McLarens and Morgan Motor Company all have a backlog of vehicles, to be exported to China as they missed getting cars into the market for second and third-quarter sales.

In December 2016, Beijing imposed a 10 per cent tax on cars costing more than RMB 1.3m (£150k, $198k) to guide reasonable consumption.

Morgan said, “Our three cars are halted halfway through the import process in China, despite the fact that these vehicles have been manufactured to exactly the same specification as have previously been accepted”.  Now complying with the test may take up to six months.

In the meanwhile, China’s appetite for the luxury goods the world’s best sports cars has been dented.

The luxury sports car exporters are finding it impossible to export into the world’s largest car market.