China’s industry ministry is considering easing electric vehicle (EV) quotas for automakers, as the country hopes to hold onto its lead in the sector, despite a significant downturn through Covid-19. This comes alongside measures to help automakers on the whole, which will see petrol-hybrid vehicles gain preference over those powered by internal combustion engines (ICEs) to help the automotive industry as a whole, without completely reverting back to fossil fuels. The approach seems to be based on a “you can’t sail on a sinking ship” philosophy,” which will allow automakers to keep afloat through sales of more profitable ICE vehicles, before accelerating the shift to new energy vehicles (NEVs) when the post-Covid environment is somewhat more stable. Under the current…