More than 400,000 high-polluting cars will be removed from Beijing's roads within the next five years, environmental authorities pledged on Tuesday.
As part of ambitious plans to boost the number of "blue-sky days", officials are targeting old clunkers that spew thick fumes into the capital's atmosphere.
The project will be carried out step by step, with 50,000 dirty vehicles set to disappear by the end of this year, said Zang Yuanwei, deputy director of the environmental protection bureau's vehicle emissions management division, during a press conference to introduce the new Beijing Clean Air Plan.
"Yellow label" cars - those that do not meet the Euro I engine standard - are already banned inside the Sixth Ring Road, but will be further restricted.
However, it remains unclear how the government will meet its 2015 target, with Zang refusing to answer questions from reporters on whether subsidies will be used to encourage owners to give up their cars.
In 2009, authorities successfully removed 106,000 high-polluting vehicles by offering cash incentives. Roughly 500 million yuan was invested over two years.