Erste-Hands-Untersuchung: Die Anforderungen für die Kfz-Steuerbefreiung bei neuen Energiefahrzeugen werden verschärft. Die neuen Modelle entsprechen im Wesentlichen den technischen Standards. Fahrzeuge, die die Standards nicht erfüllen, könnten bis Jahresende mit Liquidationsaktionen verkauft werden.

“Regardless of whether vehicles meet the newly released technical requirements announcement, the purchase tax for new energy vehicles is likely to be halved starting next year.” On October 13th, a salesperson from GAC Aion told a reporter from National Business Daily.

The technical requirements announcement he mentioned is the “Announcement on the Technical Requirements for New Energy Vehicles Eligible for Vehicle Purchase Tax Exemption or Reduction from 2026 to 2027” (hereinafter referred to as the “Announcement”) jointly issued by three departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on October 9th. From the content of the “Announcement”, it not only introduces a new national standard for the electricity consumption per 100 kilometers of pure - electric passenger vehicles, but also raises the pure - electric driving range threshold for plug - in (including extended - range) hybrid passenger vehicles from the previous 43 kilometers to 100 kilometers.

“The ‘Announcement’ puts forward some product technical requirements for pure - electric passenger vehicles and plug - in hybrid passenger vehicles, aiming to eliminate backward products, which is a good thing for the industry. From the market perspective, most of the new products launched by car companies nowadays meet the regulations, so the impact is not significant.” A salesperson from BYD said.

Cui Dongshu, the secretary - general of the Passenger Car Association, analyzed in an interview with a reporter from National Business Daily that the requirements in the “Announcement” will promote the technological upgrading of battery capacity, hybrid systems, etc., optimize the driving experience, and enhance product safety and competitiveness. Strict standards will prompt enterprises to launch higher - performance models to meet consumers' demands for long - range and low - energy - consumption vehicles, expand the market scale, and contribute to green and low - carbon development, achieving a win - win situation for industrial upgrading and consumption upgrading.

“Most new products launched by the industry meet the technical standards”

After the release of the “Announcement”, a reporter from National Business Daily conducted on - the - spot investigations in some terminal markets for new energy vehicles.

“Our product parameters meet the electricity consumption limits of the new national standard, which will not affect its inclusion in the ‘Catalogue of New Energy Vehicle Models Eligible for Vehicle Purchase Tax Exemption or Reduction’.” A salesperson from NIO said. According to the data disclosed on the Autohome website, the curb weight of the NIO ET5 is 2,185 kg, and its electricity consumption per 100 kilometers (kWh/100 km) is 14.1.

Photo source: Photo taken by Huang Xinxu, a reporter from National Business Daily

According to the requirements of the “Announcement”, the electricity consumption per 100 kilometers of pure - electric passenger vehicles should not exceed the electricity consumption limits of the corresponding models in the “Limits of Energy Consumption for Electric Vehicles - Part 1: Passenger Cars” (GB 36980.1—2025).

“Limits of Energy Consumption for Electric Vehicles - Part 1: Passenger Cars” (GB 36980.1—2025) is a mandatory national standard, which was approved and issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation (Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China) on May 30, 2025, and will come into effect on January 1, 2026. It clearly states that the curb - weight inflection points for the energy consumption limit requirements of conventional models have been adjusted from the original 750 kg and 2,510 kg to 1,090 kg and 2,710 kg; the electricity consumption limit requirements under the reference mass of 1,780 kg are generally about 11% stricter than those in the previous second stage.

Photo source: Official website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

The reporter checked the curb weights and electricity consumption per 100 kilometers of multiple models. For example, the curb weights of different configurations of the Aion UT are 1,510 kg and 1,540 kg respectively, and its electricity consumption per 100 kilometers (kWh/100 km) is 11.4; the curb weights of different configurations of the recently launched Geely Xingyuan are 1,215 kg and 1,285 kg respectively, and the corresponding electricity consumption per 100 kilometers (kWh/100 km) is 10.7 and 10.9 respectively. The salespersons of relevant models all told the reporter that the models meet the electricity consumption limits of the new national standard.

Photo source: Official website of Aion

“Previously, the industry was still exploring the ‘three - electric’ technologies, and some old models may indeed not meet the electricity consumption technical standards in the ‘Announcement’. Most of the new products launched by the industry basically meet the technical standards. As far as we know, the new products of car companies such as GAC, SAIC, and BAIC all meet the standards.” The above - mentioned GAC Aion salesperson said.

Non - compliant plug - in hybrid models may be cleared from inventory with promotions at the end of the year

Different from pure - electric passenger vehicles, the “Announcement” also puts forward requirements for the driving range of plug - in (including extended - range) hybrid passenger vehicles, that is, the pure - electric driving range threshold has been raised from the previous 43 kilometers to 100 kilometers.

Currently, most of the mainstream plug - in (including extended - range) hybrid passenger vehicles on the market have a pure - electric driving range of more than 100 kilometers. For example, the extended - range version of the Wenjie M5 has a pure - electric driving range of 230 kilometers; the intelligent driving version of the BYD Tang DM - i has a pure - electric driving range of 175 kilometers; the Li L8 has a CLTC pure - electric driving range of more than 225 kilometers. However, there are still many models on the market that do not meet the driving range threshold requirements, such as the BYD Qin PLUS DM - i, Seal 06 DM - i, and the 2025 Volkswagen Passat PHEV. Their minimum pure - electric driving ranges are 55 km, 80 km, and 52 km respectively. According to the “Announcement”, models that do not meet the technical requirements will not be included in the “Catalogue of New Energy Vehicle Models Eligible for Vehicle Purchase Tax Exemption or Reduction”.

Ji Xuehong, a professor at North China University of Technology and the director of the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center, analyzed to the reporter that for some plug - in (including extended - range) hybrid passenger vehicles on the market with a pure - electric driving range of less than 100 kilometers, car companies may conduct a round of inventory clearance promotions at the end of the year.

“We have a version with a 55 - km pure - electric driving range, and there are also several models with a pure - electric driving range of more than 100 km. This is based on consumer demand. The version with a 55 - km pure - electric driving range is still on sale, and we haven't received any notice to clear the inventory.” The above - mentioned BYD salesperson said.

However, a salesperson from SAIC Volkswagen told the reporter that the plug - in hybrid version of the Volkswagen Passat has been discontinued. “Currently, most stores no longer have this version of the model for sale, and only a few stores may have a small number of inventory vehicles. Next year, SAIC Volkswagen will launch new plug - in hybrid models with new technologies.” The above - mentioned SAIC Volkswagen salesperson said.

It is worth mentioning that the industry speculates whether the batteries of plug - in (including extended - range) hybrid passenger vehicles will tend to be larger according to the requirements of the “Announcement”. In fact, currently, the battery capacities of many extended - range models in the market have significantly “expanded”, and the technical path has quietly shifted from “small battery + large range extender” to “large battery + small range extender”.

“Bigger is not always better for extended - range batteries.” Yong Jun, the vice - president of Avita Technology, believed in an interview with the reporter that most users' daily driving scenarios, such as round - trips between Beijing and Qinhuangdao, Shanghai and Nanjing, and Guangzhou and Shenzhen, are all around 300 kilometers. Therefore, 300 kilometers is the most suitable driving range for extended - range vehicles.

If the extended - range battery is too large, it will increase the cost for car companies, but ultimately, it will be borne by users. Data from Zhenli Research shows that the unit costs of domestic LFP (lithium iron phosphate) power batteries and NCM811 ternary square batteries have dropped to 0.32 yuan/Wh and 0.47 yuan/Wh respectively. However, by increasing the battery pack size and adding a 15% to 20% system cost, the cost per kilowatt - hour will increase by 600 yuan and 900 yuan respectively.

The purchase tax for new energy vehicles is likely to be halved next year

“Currently, the notice we've received is that the purchase tax for new energy vehicles will definitely be levied next year, but it will be levied at a rate of 5%. Therefore, we all encourage consumers to place orders once they've made a decision.” Recently, salespersons from BYD, Geely Xingyuan, SAIC Volkswagen, Aion, and IM Motors all conveyed this information to the reporter.

Photo source: Photo taken by Huang Xinxu, a reporter from National Business Daily

According to the “Announcement on Continuing and Optimizing the Policy of Exempting or Reducing the Vehicle Purchase Tax for New Energy Vehicles” issued by three departments including the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in June 2023, the vehicle purchase tax for new energy vehicles purchased between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2027, will be halved. Currently, the vehicle purchase tax rate is 10%, and halving the tax for new energy vehicles means the actual tax rate is 5%.

“For a car like the Aion UT, the purchase tax may increase by about 3,000 yuan next year.” The above - mentioned GAC Aion salesperson said. “Regardless of whether new energy vehicle models meet the technical requirements of the ‘Announcement’, the purchase tax for new energy vehicles will start to be levied next year. Models that meet the technical requirements should have the tax halved, while those that don't may be taxed at the full rate.”

In Cui Dongshu's view, the “Announcement” is not a continuation of the policy of exempting new energy vehicles from the purchase tax but indicates that the countdown to the withdrawal of the exemption policy for new energy vehicle purchase tax has begun. The policy of halving the purchase tax for new energy vehicles to be implemented next year requires new technical standards to support it.

Ji Xuehong said that the technical requirements for new products are formulated by the competent authorities in combination with the latest technological development of new energy vehicles in China. Models eligible for the policy of halving the purchase tax for new energy vehicles starting in 2026 need to meet relevant technological progress requirements. “Car companies should have anticipated the introduction of these new technical requirements.” Ji Xuehong believes.

This article is from the WeChat official account “NBD Auto”. Author: Reporter from National Business Daily. Republished by 36Kr with permission.