China announces measures to remove foreign ownership restrictions in its automotive sector

On 17 April 2018, as previously signalled by the government and anticipated by the market for some time, an official of the National Development and
Reform Commission (“NDRC”) announced the following reforms to liberalise foreign ownership restrictions in China’s automotive industry:

• removal of foreign ownership restrictions in the special vehicles and new energy car sectors in 2018;
• removal of foreign ownership restrictions in the commercial vehicles sector in 2020; and
• removal of foreign ownership restrictions in the passenger vehicles sector and the limit of two joint venture investments per foreign investor in 2022.