The Chinese government said it will levy punitive penalties against automobile manufacturers that don't meet fuel mileage requirements for passenger cars set to hit the market in 2015.

The regulators plan on using a combination of production limits and shame to keep the automakers in line. Any car manufacturer that fails to meet the 2015 target would not only be prohibited from producing new models that don't meet fuel economy standards, but they would be publicly named as well, reports Reuters.

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The announcement by the government is part of Beijing's effort to reduce smog pollution, which has been choking the capital of late. Last week, Beijing's air quality index (AQI) exceeded 300 on three consecutive days, reports Bloomberg News. Last year the city counted 60 days during which the pollution exceeded emergency levels.

The AQI is calculated from real-time measurements of pollutants in the air, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Anything below a 50 on the AQI is considered "good."

The move is also expected to be a boon for electric and hybrid automobile manufacturers and their parts suppliers, as it could spur carmakers to embrace "green" technology.

The fuel economy standards set by the Chinese government require a fleet-wide corporate average gas mileage target of 6.9 liters per 100km in 2015 and 5 liters in 2020. They rules take effect on November 1.

In 2o13, 30 percent of the 85 automakers that had their corporate-average fuel consumption measured did not meet their target for the year, according to results published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The stringent guidelines do not only apply to domestic Chinese carmakers, but imported foreign cats as well. Among the manufacturers that failed to meet the standards last year were General Motors (GM), Nissan, Porsche and Hyundai.

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