China Boosts NEV Industry Design to Drive High-Quality Development
China is taking significant steps to enhance the design of its new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, aiming to support its robust growth and promote high-quality development.
Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission, along with three other authorities, issued a guideline to strengthen the integration of NEVs into the country's power grid.
By 2025, China plans to establish a preliminary technical standards system for the integration of NEVs, while fully implementing and optimising time-of-use electricity pricing mechanisms for NEV charging. Looking ahead to 2030, NEVs are expected to become a crucial component of China's electrochemical energy storage system, according to the guideline.
China has been proactive in releasing plans and guidelines for the NEV industry, outlining its development trajectory and aiming to accelerate the country's transition into a powerhouse in the automotive sector. In November 2020, a development plan for the industry from 2021-2035 was unveiled, highlighting five strategic tasks: enhancing technological innovation capacity, fostering new industry ecosystems, promoting industrial integration and development, improving infrastructure systems, and deepening international cooperation.
Recognizing the importance of consolidating and expanding the advantages of NEVs, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee emphasized this during a meeting analyzing the national economic situation and economic work in April last year.
In June 2023, a guideline was issued to further improve NEV charging infrastructure. The focus was on building a well-structured charging network in urban areas, with an emphasis on coverage in residential and business areas, as well as commercial, industrial, and leisure zones. The guideline also stressed the need for an effective charging network in rural areas and the establishment of demonstration counties and towns for the construction and application of charging infrastructure.
China has also taken steps to unleash the domestic consumption potential of NEVs. In a significant move, the preferential purchase tax policy for NEVs was extended until the end of 2027 in June 2023. Additionally, local governments implemented specific incentive measures to stimulate consumption, such as the introduction of a digital yuan subsidy policy for car buyers in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.
The efforts to strengthen the NEV industry have yielded positive results. China's NEV manufacturers ended 2023 with better-than-expected performance, with wholesale sales of new energy passenger cars estimated to have surged by 38 percent to 8.88 million units, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. Among the top-performing NEV producers, Shenzhen-based BYD emerged as the world's leading seller of pure electric vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023, surpassing Tesla's sales during the same period with 526,409 all-electric cars sold.
With robust policy support and increasing domestic demand, the NEV sector is poised for further growth in the coming years. Industry insiders predict a significant increase in production and sales volumes of Chinese NEVs.
China releases guideline to enhance NEV integration into power grid
Plans and guidelines outline China's path to becoming an automotive industry powerhouse
Efforts to improve NEV charging infrastructure and unleash domestic consumption potential
Source: CGTN