The safety bottom line is tightened again. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has launched a safety hazard investigation of new energy vehicles in 2026.
Recently, the Equipment Industry Development Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the "Notice on Carrying out the Safety Hidden Danger Investigation of New Energy Vehicles in 2026", launching a new round of special safety hidden danger investigations of new energy vehicle products across the country. It requires all new energy vehicle manufacturers to complete the investigation and report the results before August 31. This initiative comes only one week after the video conference on strengthening the safety management of new energy vehicles (hereinafter referred to as the management video conference) jointly held by the First Department of Equipment Industry of the MIIT, the Quality Development Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the Fire Supervision Department of the National Fire and Rescue Bureau on May 14.
This is also the most extensive and specific safety investigation organized by the MIIT for consecutive years since 2019.
Refined Investigation Content, Linked with the New Battery National Standard
According to the information on the MIIT's official website, the management video conference studied and deployed the safety management work of new energy vehicles for this year. At the meeting, it was emphasized that "product quality and safety management should be regarded as the 'top - level project' and effectively implemented in detail." At the same time, it was clearly required that vehicle manufacturers and power battery manufacturers should consciously shoulder the main responsibility for product quality and safety. The investigation notice issued by the MIIT this time is to transform the requirements of the three - department meeting into a specific implementation plan.
It is understood that the investigation scope covers all new energy vehicle manufacturers and products that have obtained access permits, including the existing new energy vehicles of merged and reorganized enterprises. The investigation content covers five aspects: product quality and safety, operation monitoring safety, after - sales service safety, safety accident investigation, and self - inspection of the new energy safety system construction, forming a full - chain safety supervision system from R & D and design, production and manufacturing to operation and use, and after - sales service. Among them, product quality and safety investigation is regarded as the top priority, focusing on the safety of the power battery system and the quality and safety of new energy vehicles as a whole, especially the functional safety and expected functional safety of the combined driving assistance system, as well as the vehicle quality and safety risks under extreme weather or special working conditions.
In terms of safety accident investigation, the notice puts forward more stringent reporting requirements. After an ordinary fire accident occurs, the enterprise must report the basic information within 24 hours; for accidents resulting in death or significant social impact, the basic situation must be reported within 12 hours; detailed information, including the monitoring data of the three months before the accident, must be submitted within 5 days for all accidents.
Most importantly, the notice clearly stipulates that if there are three or more fire accidents for the same model, the enterprise must statistically analyze the product configuration and technical characteristic information of relevant vehicle models, formulate a special safety hidden danger investigation plan and implement disposal measures. For enterprises that fail to report as required, conceal information, or fail to actively handle safety hidden dangers, the regulatory authorities will, depending on the nature and severity of the problem, take penalty measures such as interviews, public announcements, ordering rectification within a time limit, suspending or revoking product announcements, and conducting defect investigations in conjunction with the State Administration for Market Regulation and ordering recalls.
This investigation is also linked with the upcoming implementation of the mandatory national standard GB38031 - 2025 "Safety Requirements for Traction Batteries for Electric Vehicles". This standard will be officially implemented on July 1, 2026, and is known in the industry as the "strictest power battery safety order in history". Compared with the 2020 version of the standard, the new national standard has undergone several major technological upgrades. The most core change is that the requirement after the thermal runaway of the power battery is adjusted from "providing a thermal event alarm signal 5 minutes before fire and explosion" to "no fire, no explosion (still need to alarm), and the smoke does not cause harm to passengers".
The new national standard also adds a bottom impact test and a safety test after fast - charging cycles. The former examines the protection ability of the battery after the bottom is impacted, and the latter requires that the battery should not catch fire or explode in the external short - circuit test after 300 fast - charging cycles. The data disclosed by the MIIT in the standard preparation instructions shows that as of February 2024, among the 36 interviewed vehicle and battery enterprises, 78% have the technical reserves for power batteries to not catch fire or explode, 14% are expected to have them from 2026 to 2027, and another 8% will achieve it in 2030 and beyond. Ji Xuehong, a professor at North China University of Technology, evaluated the new national standard as "fully reflecting rigor and scientificity", believing that the implementation of the "no fire, no explosion" standard is expected to solve the safety pain points of power batteries.
High Growth Accompanied by Safety Pressure, Parallel Technological Upgrades and Compliance Rectifications
Behind the launch of the investigation is the continuous high - speed growth of the domestic new energy vehicle market. Statistical data shows that as of the end of 2025, the number of new energy vehicles in the country has reached 43.97 million, accounting for 12.01% of the total number of vehicles. In 2025, 12.93 million new energy vehicles were newly registered, accounting for 49.38% of the newly registered vehicles.
While the total volume is increasing, there are structural changes in the domestic market. In the first four months of 2026, the domestic sales volume of new energy vehicles was 2.92 million, a year - on - year decrease of 20.2%. Chen Shihua, the deputy secretary - general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, previously said that "a series of recent policy measures have sent positive signals, which will help improve the domestic automobile market, consolidate foreign trade advantages, and promote the stable operation and high - quality development of the industry." The adjustment of the domestic market means that the industry is shifting from high - speed expansion to stock adjustment, and the safety management pressure of existing vehicles has increased accordingly.
It is worth noting that according to the information released by the State Administration for Market Regulation, from April to May 2026, several new energy vehicle enterprises have issued recall announcements. Geely recalled some domestic Polestar 4 pure - electric models of the 2023 - 2024 models equipped with 86kWh power batteries. The reason for the recall is the manufacturing consistency problem of the high - voltage power battery components. Long - term use may lead to an abnormal increase in the internal resistance of the power battery, and in extreme cases, it may cause thermal runaway. At the same time, enterprises such as Dongfeng Nissan, FAW - Volkswagen, and NIO have also carried out recalls, involving safety issues in multiple aspects such as the braking system and protective devices.
In addition, leading enterprises have begun to layout battery safety technologies that meet the requirements of the new national standard and have made significant progress before this investigation. CATL said that it is the first enterprise to pass the new national standard. Its first - generation non - thermal diffusion (NP) technology proposed and mass - produced in 2020 achieved no fire and no explosion. BYD's second - generation blade battery completed a challenge beyond the new national standard in the thermal diffusion test, and the insulation resistance value remained stable above the technical specifications.
Geely's Aegis short - blade battery passed the world's first 5.8mm real - bullet shooting penetration test, and 23 tests were higher than the national standard requirements. GAC Aion's magazine battery technology effectively improved the safety performance of the battery through the innovative "compartment isolation" design and efficient heat - insulation and heat - absorption layers.
However, not all enterprises can easily cope with this regulatory upgrade. For some small and medium - sized enterprises with insufficient technical reserves and limited funds, it is quite a challenge to meet the requirements of the new national standard and complete a comprehensive safety investigation and rectification in a short time. The implementation of the new national standard will increase the R & D and production costs of automobiles to a certain extent, which is undoubtedly a worse situation for some small and medium - sized enterprises that are already in a profit dilemma.
It is generally believed in the industry that this regulatory upgrade will accelerate the reshuffle of the industry and promote the concentration of market resources to leading enterprises. Enterprises that truly focus on R & D and quality and have core technological advantages will have more development space, while enterprises with lagging technology and slow layout may face the risk of being eliminated.
Judging from the deadline required by the investigation notice, with the implementation of the new national standard on July 1 and the submission of the investigation report on August 31, enterprises only have two months to complete self - inspection and rectification. For enterprises with a large number of existing models and complex supply chains, there is obvious time pressure to complete the after - sales investigation of vehicles of merged and reorganized brands, sort out the situation of component suppliers that have stopped cooperation, and verify long - term offline vehicles one by one.
However, industry insiders also said that the summary and reporting of the investigation results will provide the industry with a panoramic data of the safety situation at a stage, and the actual investment and effectiveness of each enterprise in safety management will also become more transparent.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Automotive Market Insights", author: Yang Shuo, published by 36Kr with authorization.