Volvo's Boss Stresses Car's Interior Environment

Li Shufu, chairman and chief executive of Geely Automobile Holding Company Ltd., and also member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) meets the press on Friday, March 2, 2012.

China's Geely Auto, which owns Sweden's legendary carmaker Volvo, has reemphasized the importance of raising the interior air quality in most passenger vehicles in China. Li Shufu, Chairman and Chief Executive of Geely Automobile Holdings Limited, said on Friday that the interior air quality in cars have long been overlooked and the auto industry needs a standard to regulate future practices.

Despite the rapidly increasing number of cars that prowl the streets of China, the rate of ownership is still far lower than that of developed countries. Hence, the majority of auto buyers in China will mainly focus on what is called the exterior factors, such as design, safety and fuel efficiency, whereas the interior air quality in cars, equally important for human safety, are often overlooked.

Car owners will also consider the unpleasant odor in cars, especially the smell of formaldehyde in new cars, unique and symbol of ownership, Li noted.

Li, also a member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory, made a proposal to the government on February 29 to urge the introduction of such a standard to limit the use of hazardous materials to ensure the safety of interior air quality.

Li said that Chinese people, especially those in the upper class, have become increasingly aware of environmental protection, and urged the authorities to publish official monitoring data of PM2.5 (inhalant particle matters whose diameter are below 2.5 micrometers). But most of them fail to realize the interior environment in cars has a more direct link to their health and well-being.

"People get sick a lot more often these days because of environment pollution, for example, formaldehyde poisoning in newly decorated houses, but sometimes the pollution in cars could be worse." Li said, noting that his proposal would benefit and improve social security, in which the public has been visibly vocal.

"Better air quality in cars would mean fewer patients in hospitals, putting less pressure on public sectors. People can spend their money elsewhere, rather than investing it in medical care," Li said.

Independent research conducted by Ecology Center (Ann Arbor) in the United States and published on Healthystuff.org has listed 10 cars with the worst interior healthy environment, in which best-sellers like the Mini Cooper, Hyundai i30, and Chevrolet Aveo 5 can be found.

The lack of a national standard would also mean more troubles for the judicial systems when a dispute concerning damage caused by interior car air pollution needs to be settled.

China's Ministry of Environmental Protection and General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine have jointly launched a Guideline for Air Quality Assessment of Passenger Cars.

Li, together with Prof. Ge Yunshan of the Beijing Institute of Technology, who chairs the guideline's draft work, called on the guideline to become a compulsory measure, because only in this way will all car makers have to obey, since improving a car's interior environment will mean higher cost.

"A compulsory measure will help fair play in the industry," said Li, who declined to forecast how long it would take to make the change.

Li said Geely series cars have been implementing a strict standard and he ensured all Geely cars, despite targeting the lower and middle range of customers, have decent interior air quality. Li he didn't elaborate on Volvo due to "various implications," but ensured Volvo's interior environment represents the world's best.