China is revising its 2025 sales target for new energy vehicles to 25% of total car sales from the current of 20%, according to a government paper released this week.
New energy vehicles currently mainly comprise battery powered and plug in hybrid vehicles with fuel cell electric vehicles also expected to account for a significant volume further ahead.
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The country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said the revised target would serve as a development guideline for the country's automotive industry in the 2021-2035 period, although actual sales targets for the 2026-2035 period have not been released.
The new 2025 target is an indication that the government is more committed than ever to making the switch to zero emission vehicles as quickly as possible, despite deep cuts in subsidies in June which led to a sharp sales decline in the second half of the year.
The subsidy cuts in June targeted all new energy vehicles on the market. But subsidies were eliminated altogether on vehicles with a range of less than 250km on a single charge, as the government looks to drive out poor performing, low tech vehicles from the market.
China is already the world's largest market for electric vehicles and the government wants the country to become the global industry and technology leader in this segment, targeting also overseas markets.
New energy vehicle sales in China were still 10% higher year on year at 947,000 units in the first 10 months of the year, or 4.6% of total vehicle sales, despite the sharp volume decline in the last few months.
