The Chinese government is preparing to announce a series of new measures aimed at supporting the country’s new energy vehicle industry, according to local reports citing a senior government official.
The incentives are understood to be part of a broader stimulus package aimed at supporting domestic economic growth, with a number of industries facing increasing levels of protectionism in overseas markets.
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Zhang Yunming, stated in a State Council news briefing: “With domestic competition intensifying and international trade barriers rising, we will implement more precise measures to sustain the NEV industry's growth momentum, particularly focusing on accelerating breakthroughs in crucial technologies such as new system batteries.”
In particular, the government is expected to provide additional support for “new system batteries” that use advanced solid-state materials, which offer increased energy density, safety and stability compared with the lithium-ion batteries widely in use today.
This policy clearly identifies solid-state batteries as the next key global battleground for next-generation EV battery technologies, with major overseas manufacturers also racing to bring this technology to market in the second half of the decade.
Zhang Yunming confirmed "The MIIT will advance national research and development initiatives to fast-track these breakthroughs and also introduce guidelines to promote battery-swapping infrastructure."
Sales of Chinese-made new energy vehicles, comprising mainly battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), rose by over 35% to 12.866 million units last year including exports - equivalent to around 41% of total Chinese-made vehicles. NEV exports rose by just 7% to 1.284 million units.
