BEIJING (REUTERS) - China has begun studying when to ban the production and sale of cars using traditional fuels, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing comments by the vice-industry minister.

Xin Guobin did not give any details on when China, the world's largest auto market, would implement such a ban.

"Some countries have made a timeline for when to stop the production and sales of traditional fuel cars," Xin, vice-minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, was quoted as saying at an auto industry event in the city of Tianjin on Saturday.

"The ministry has also started relevant research and will make such a timeline with relevant departments. Those measures will certainly bring profound changes for our car industry's development," he said.

The United Kingdom has pledged a ban on new diesel and petrol car sales by 2040.