The State Council issued the Development Plan for Energy-saving and New Energy Automotive Industry (2012-2020) (“the Development Plan”) on 28 June 2012. It sets out the high-level principles and general framework for developing the EV industry in China. The Development Plan identifies the development of EVs as a national strategy, and establishes a goal for China to reach a manufacturing capacity of 2 million BEVs and PHEVs per year by 2020.
To implement the Development Plan, the State Council issued the Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Popularisation and Application of New Energy Vehicles (“the Guiding Opinions”) on 14 July 2014. This includes an overall plan to promote EVs, and covers aspects of: the construction of basic infrastructure; technologies and innovation; financial subsidies; and tax benefits. In particular, the Guiding Opinions provide that EVs should be the preferred choice for government procurement. By 2016, the percentage of EVs purchased by central government departments and their local branches should have accounted for at least 30% of the total vehicles purchased by those entities each year.
On 6 January 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the Administrative Provisions on the Market Access for New-Energy Vehicle Manufacturers and Products. This provides that both EV manufacturers and the EVs manufactured should fulfil certain conditions, and gain approval, before entering the market. In addition to the qualifications that a manufacturer of regular automotive vehicles must possess, an EV manufacturer must also satisfy a series of additional qualification requirements concerning the design, development, production, after-sale services, and other capabilities of EVs. Before entering the market, an EV must satisfy all technical standards, and must pass safety inspections and other relevant examinations organised by state-recognised testing institutions.
Safety has always been a major focus and objective for the administrative regulators. On 11 November 2016, the MIIT issued the Circular on Further Enhancing the Safety Oversight of the Promotion and Use of New Energy Vehicles. Among other requirements, EV manufacturers must establish platforms and mechanisms – with the consent of users – to supervise the safety status of EVs. The Circular does not specify the mechanisms to be used to obtain users’ consent. Manufacturers might adopt different approaches according to what best suits their operations. In addition, four departments of the central government jointly issued the Circular on Strengthening the Safety Administration of the Demonstration and Promotion of Energy-saving and New Energy Vehicles on 18 August 2011. This specifies the obligations of EV charging stations to establish safety management measures to avoid accidents during charging.
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