GMC’s Mary Barra Has A Problem With China’s Mandatory EV Push

China has an aggressive plan to ban the sale of gasoline and diesel cars, and GMC CEO Mary Barra doesn’t like it one bit. Instead, she thinks the market, or in other words the people, should decide when that happens.

Naturally, some environmentalists and electric car fans are calling for her head. But the funny thing is Barra isn’t saying EVs shouldn’t or won’t overtake traditional internal combustion-powered cars. Instead, she’s just saying that no government should go in and artificially usher the change.

To be clear, China’s proposal hasn’t been officially adopted. There are no dates for when ICE vehicles would be banned from the country, which is the largest automotive market in the world.

Clearly, the Chinese are tired of the massive pollution levels in many of its biggest cities, like Hong Kong and Shanghai. The government has plans to become a leader in the production of solar panels, lithium-ion batteries, and EVs. This kind of move would be a huge boost to that effort.

Barra thinks the best way to roll out EVs is to let consumers choose which technologies and features suit their needs the best. That, in turn, results in better, more practical designs. GM has two electric cars in production: the Chevy Volt and Bolt. The Volt is in the Chinese market as the Buick Velite 5. GM also offers the Baojun E100 in China, which is a two-seater micro EV.