China plans to have 70 percent electric share of new cars by 2030

The new five-year plan for the auto industry is in place. By 2030, 70 percent of all new cars in China are expected to be electrically powered. Chinese brands should rise to the top of the world.

Car production in China: Chinese companies should set international standards. Photo: Bloomberg

Beijing. China wants to increase the share of electric and hybrid vehicles in new car sales to 70 percent by 2030. In addition, autonomous driving is to be used on a large scale. This emerges from the latest five-year plan for the auto industry.

Beijing has also set a target for the sale of new commercial vehicles: by 2030, 40 percent of new commercial vehicles sold should be electric. The government also expects several Chinese automakers to join the world's 10 largest and have greater influence in setting global standards. The 15th five-year plan released on Friday was drawn up by nine state agencies.

BYD, SAIC and Geely were already among the ten largest manufacturers in the world in terms of sales last year. However, they were still well behind the three leaders Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai-Kia.

The five-year plans set the long-term strategy and goals for key industries that the central government considers critical to the country's economic development. The document, published in 2021, expected electric and hybrid vehicles to account for 20 percent of new car sales by 2025. China has clearly exceeded this target: last year, according to the Association of Chinese Passenger Car Manufacturers, the share was 54 percent.

The 70 percent target is also likely to be achieved ahead of schedule. Rising gasoline prices are accelerating demand for electric and hybrid vehicles. In August, vehicles with alternative fuels accounted for 65 percent of car sales, according to data from the association.

China's car market is in crisis

The plan does not contain a specific target for autonomous vehicles. But for some, the focus on autonomous driving is likely to have positive effects: Previously, no new approvals for robotaxis had been issued for several months this year after vehicles from the Chinese company Baidu broke down in Wuhan.

China is now the world's largest manufacturer of electric cars and, together with the USA, is one of the leading countries in the use of autonomous driving technologies. However, the domestic car market faces several challenges. In the first eight months of this year, car sales fell 21 percent. The ongoing price war is putting a strain on profit margins.

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The latest five-year plan also states that the government wants to deepen the reform of car manufacturers, promote mergers and enable inefficient manufacturers to exit. This could help reduce excess capacity.

Battery technology and recycling are also on the agenda. The plan calls for the introduction of standards for new cell chemistries such as solid-state batteries, as well as improvements in the recovery of important metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel.

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