A new tough auto emissions standard was launched in China on Sunday.

The People's Daily reported that new private cars which fail to meet this standard one year since the standard came into effect will not be allowed to be sold. The standard, which was approved in 2005, is equal to the Euro III standard.

With this standard, most of the country's automakers have fully prepared their production to meet this requirement. Currently, most of them have already produced cars in accordance with the new standard, and satisfied the market demand. 

Beijing and Guangzhou have already introduced the Euro III standard last year.

The amount of private car ownership in the country reached 50 million by the end of last year.

China will gradually implement stricter auto oil consumption and pollutant emission standards for energy saving and environmental protection in future.