It will be implemented starting next year, concerning the exemption and reduction of purchase tax for new energy vehicles.
On October 9th, three departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the "Announcement on the Technical Requirements for New Energy Vehicles Eligible for Vehicle Purchase Tax Exemption from 2026 to 2027" (hereinafter referred to as the "Announcement"), clarifying the adjustment of relevant technical requirements for pure - electric passenger cars and plug - in (including range - extended, the same below) hybrid passenger cars.
Image source: Official website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
Judging from the content of the "Announcement", it not only introduces the updated national standard for the electricity consumption per 100 kilometers of pure - electric passenger cars, but also raises the pure - electric driving range threshold of plug - in (including range - extended) hybrid passenger cars from the previous 43 kilometers to 100 kilometers.
"The adjustment of the new energy vehicle product technology this time is to adapt to the rapid improvement of the driving range of new energy vehicles and the upgrading of range - extended technology, ensuring that the policy keeps pace with technological development. Meanwhile, by raising the technical threshold, it guides enterprises to increase R & D investment, eliminates backward products, promotes the transformation of the industry from scale expansion to high - quality development, and stabilizes enterprises' long - term expectations for the policy." Cui Dongshu, the secretary - general of the Passenger Car Association, analyzed in an interview with a reporter from "National Business Daily".
The "Announcement" clarifies that starting from January 1, 2026, models included in the "Catalogue of New Energy Vehicle Models Eligible for Vehicle Purchase Tax Exemption" need to meet the requirements of the "Announcement". "The release of the 'Announcement' is to further enhance the intensity of energy conservation and carbon reduction, and at the same time emphasize the improvement from quantity to quality and the leading role of technological innovation." Yang Weibin, an expert in new energy vehicles and power batteries, suggested that automobile enterprises should make vehicle announcements as soon as possible according to the new technical standards of energy consumption and distance and make preparations for sales. Most importantly, they should not simply rely on increasing the battery capacity to meet the mileage requirements, but strengthen R & D and innovation, and run a longer distance with the same amount of electricity by improving the efficiency of the "three - electric" system and the vehicle integration technology.
Pure - electric passenger cars need to meet the new national standard for electricity consumption limits
Specifically, the "Announcement" puts forward requirements for the relevant technologies of pure - electric passenger cars and plug - in (including range - extended) hybrid passenger cars respectively. Among them, it requires that the electricity consumption per 100 kilometers of pure - electric passenger cars should not be higher than the electricity consumption limit of the corresponding models in the "Limits of Energy Consumption for Electric Vehicles - Part 1: Passenger Cars" (GB 36980.1 - 2025).
It is reported that the "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 be implemented on January 1, 2026. Regarding the revision background of this standard, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology pointed out in the interpretation that in recent years, the introduction of energy - saving technologies for pure - electric passenger cars has accelerated, and the electricity consumption of models has been continuously decreasing. It is necessary to tighten the electricity consumption limit requirements to further improve the vehicle energy efficiency level and promote the application of advanced energy - saving technologies.
Image source: Official website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
The "Limits of Energy Consumption for Electric Vehicles - Part 1: Passenger Cars" (GB 36980.1 - 2025) clarifies that for the energy consumption limit requirements of conventional models, the inflection points of the vehicle mass are adjusted from the original 750kg and 2510kg to 1090kg and 2710kg. The electricity consumption limit, under the reference mass of 1780kg, is generally about 11% stricter than that of the original second stage.
Cui Dongshu said that electricity consumption is the most important indicator for pure - electric vehicles. Reducing electricity consumption reflects the comprehensive design ability of pure - electric vehicles and is the core indicator pursued by enterprises. The greater the vehicle mass, the higher the electricity consumption. The new technical requirements set the vehicle mass standard for pure - electric passenger cars above 2700kg, which will indirectly suppress the excessive development of the current trend of large - sized new energy passenger cars.
The "Announcement" also clarifies that for passenger cars with a maximum design total mass exceeding 3500kg, the electricity consumption limit requirements shall be implemented with reference to the electricity consumption limit of passenger cars with a maximum design total mass of 3500kg in GB 36980.1 - 2025. "Since there are very few passenger cars exceeding 3500kg, which belong to logistics - type passenger cars, it basically has no impact." Cui Dongshu said.
Cui Dongshu said that the new technical requirements 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 models with higher performance, meet consumers' demands for long - range and low - energy - consumption vehicles, expand the market scale, and at the same time contribute to green and low - carbon development, achieving a win - win situation for industrial upgrading and consumption upgrading.
Image source: AI - generated
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also said that the implementation of the "Limits of Energy Consumption for Electric Vehicles - Part 1: Passenger Cars" (GB 36980.1 - 2025) is conducive to promoting the progress of automotive energy - saving technologies, improving the vehicle energy efficiency level, and eliminating high - energy - consumption models. It plays an important role in supporting the carbon peak of the automotive industry, facilitating the replacement of old cars with new ones, and promoting the high - quality development of the new energy vehicle industry.
Plug - in hybrid cars with a pure - electric driving range of less than 100 kilometers may have inventory - clearing promotions
The "Announcement" released this time puts forward a number of technical requirements for plug - in (including range - extended) hybrid passenger cars.
Compared with the "not less than 43 kilometers" mentioned in the "Announcement on Adjusting the Technical Requirements for New Energy Vehicles Eligible for Vehicle Purchase Tax Exemption" released in 2023, the "Announcement" significantly raises the threshold for the pure - electric driving range of plug - in (including range - extended) hybrid passenger cars.
"The 'Announcement' puts forward higher requirements for the pure - electric driving range of plug - in (including range - extended) hybrid passenger cars, which will reduce consumers' daily travel costs and provide consumers with a better travel experience." Ji Xuehong, a professor at North China University of Technology and the director of the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center, analyzed to the reporter. For some plug - in (including range - extended) hybrid passenger cars on the market with a pure - electric driving range of less than 100 kilometers, automobile enterprises may conduct a round of inventory - clearing promotions before the end of the year.
According to Yang Weibin, among the currently on - sale plug - in (including range - extended) hybrid passenger cars, about 40% have a pure - electric driving range of less than 100 kilometers. "These vehicles will be delisted before January 1, 2026. In the short term, it will accelerate the inventory - clearing speed of automobile enterprises and also intensify the fluctuation of sales volume at the beginning of next year." Yang Weibin believes.
Cui Dongshu also said that the continuous improvement of the driving range of plug - in (including range - extended) hybrid passenger cars is the result of consumers' car - buying choices. Currently, the driving range of plug - in (including range - extended) hybrid passenger cars launched on the market is mainly concentrated between 100 kilometers and 200 kilometers, and a large number of plug - in (including range - extended) hybrid passenger cars with a driving range of about 250 kilometers are also being launched, bringing consumers a better pure - electric driving experience.
Most of the currently on - sale mainstream plug - in (including range - extended) hybrid passenger cars have a pure - electric driving range of more than 100 kilometers. For example, the range - extended 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 CLTC has a pure - electric driving range of more than 225 kilometers.
Image source: Official website of the Ministry of Finance
In Cui Dongshu's view, the "Announcement" is not a continuation of the new energy vehicle purchase tax exemption policy, but indicates that the exit of the new energy vehicle purchase tax exemption policy is entering the countdown. The new energy vehicle purchase tax halving policy to be implemented next year needs new technical standards to support it. "It is unlikely that new energy vehicles will continue to be exempted from vehicle purchase tax next year. It should be levied at a purchase tax rate of 5%." Cui Dongshu believes.
In June 2023, the "Announcement on Continuing and Optimizing the New Energy Vehicle Purchase Tax Exemption Policy" jointly issued by three departments including the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology clarified that new energy vehicles purchased between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2027, will be subject to a halved vehicle purchase tax. Currently, the vehicle purchase tax rate is 10%, and the halved tax for new energy vehicles means the actual tax rate is 5%.
Ji Xuehong said that the new product technical requirements are formulated by the competent authorities in combination with the latest technological development of new energy vehicles in China. Models eligible for the new energy vehicle purchase tax halving policy starting in 2026 need to meet the relevant technological progress requirements. "Automobile enterprises should have anticipated the introduction of the new technical requirements." Ji Xuehong believes.
This article is from the WeChat public account "NBD Auto", author: Li Xing. Republished by 36Kr with permission.