COMMENT: With 18m sales in 2013, can China solve its pollution problem?

Having carefully orchestrated the growth of its vehicle market, one might expect China to have carefully planned a strategy of stringent emissions standards sooner than it has. But the reality is very different: China is currently the world’s biggest polluter and, as recent news stories have heavily publicised, major cities are frequently shrouded in dense smog. The situation has become so severe that new emergency powers have been introduced, allowing police to stop traffic when pollution descends.