The Path Forward for New Energy Vehicles in the Pursuit of Carbon Neutrality

　　Under the vision of carbon neutrality, how can global new‑energy vehicles better achieve market penetration? How can relevant government agencies and enterprises collaborate to advance the realization of carbon neutrality? At the recently held 2021 World New Energy Vehicle Conference, participants convened to discuss the theme of “fully advancing marketization, accelerating cross‑industry integration, and working together to achieve carbon neutrality.”

　　“Green, low-carbon development and an accelerated transition to electrification are the primary pathways for the automotive industry to achieve carbon neutrality. We must jointly foster a favorable environment for industrial development, break through developmental bottlenecks, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, continuously expand the scale of new‑energy vehicle deployment, and comprehensively promote green, low‑carbon development across the entire lifecycle and value chain of new‑energy vehicles,” noted Wan Gang, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and President of the China Association for Science and Technology.

　　 The inflection point for a full-scale marketization breakthrough has arrived.

　　Statistical data show that in 2020, global sales of new-energy vehicles in major countries exceeded 3.2 million units, with China accounting for 1.367 million units—5.4% of its total new-car sales. By the end of 2020, cumulative global sales of new-energy vehicles had surpassed 10 million, with China contributing more than 50% of that total.

　　“Globally, the share of new‑energy vehicles is rising rapidly, and in regions such as the European Union and China, these vehicles have reached a pivotal inflection point marking a full‑scale market breakthrough,” said Wan Gang.

　　Wan Gang pointed out that, over nearly a decade of development, China’s new‑energy vehicle market penetration has risen from 1% to 10%. “The accelerating growth rate indicates that consumer demand will be the primary driver of market expansion, signaling that the entire new‑energy vehicle sector is transitioning to a stage characterized by dual policy‑and‑market impetus, with an increasing reliance on market forces.”

　　Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that, under the guidance and support of national policies, the new‑energy vehicle industry has experienced robust growth, demonstrating a strong momentum of simultaneous improvements in market scale and development quality. Production and sales have reached new record highs, Chinese brands are thriving, technological innovation has made fresh progress, and internationalization has yielded significant results.

　　As the impact of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation continues to deepen, cross-sector collaboration has become an inevitable trend in industrial development. The convergence of “vehicle‑energy integration,” “vehicle‑infrastructure coordination,” and “vehicle‑network interconnection” is pooling synergies and injecting fresh momentum into the high‑quality growth of the new‑energy vehicle industry.

　　 It is urgently necessary to overcome technical bottlenecks.

　　Despite the booming market for new-energy vehicles, underlying concerns remain. Technical bottlenecks—such as limited low-temperature performance of complete vehicles, frequent high-temperature‑related issues, and challenges in hydrogen supply for fuel cells, along with system‑level and cost‑related hurdles—still need to be addressed.

　　Xin Guobin pointed out that China’s new‑energy vehicle industry is facing new challenges. The sector itself has certain shortcomings: the overall cost of NEVs remains high, and their safety and reliability, low‑temperature performance, and user convenience still need improvement. In addition, recycling and reuse channels for power batteries are not yet fully streamlined, and key EV components—particularly power batteries—are under pressure from supply‑chain constraints and rising prices of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel.

　　During the conference, the “2021 World New Energy Vehicle Conference Consensus” was released, calling on all stakeholders to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, enhance coordination across the upstream and downstream value chain, promote the recycling and reuse of power batteries, and jointly address challenges related to the research, development, production, supply, and resource shortages of power batteries and automotive-grade chips.

　　Vice Minister of Science and Technology Xiang Libin emphasized that achieving carbon neutrality has now become an international consensus. Carbon neutrality in the automotive industry is a complex, system‑wide undertaking that requires systematic thinking and coordinated efforts to promote energy conservation and emissions reduction across the entire lifecycle and value chain of the sector.

　　“We must prioritize the vigorous development of power‑battery technology as the primary focus for achieving vehicle‑energy synergy, leverage the growth of fuel‑cell vehicles to drive the deployment of green hydrogen and transform the energy system, steadfastly pursue intelligent‑technology‑driven development, and harness scientific and technological innovation to foster new momentum for the new‑energy vehicle industry,” said Xiang Libin.

　　 Strengthen collaborative cooperation across the entire industrial chain.

　　Promoting low-carbon development across the entire lifecycle and value chain of new-energy vehicles is a pressing challenge today. “The market has tremendous demand for zero-emission vehicles, and we are fully prepared to seize this opportunity. Accelerating the transformation of the transport sector is crucial, requiring concerted efforts from transportation authorities, energy providers, and smart‑grid operators, as well as seamless international cooperation and the sharing of best practices,” said Dan Donner, Director of the Secretariat of the Clean Energy Ministerial, expressing his optimism about the future of sustainable mobility.

　　Wang Xiaoqiu, President of SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, stated that consumer choice is the long-term driving force behind achieving the carbon neutrality vision. SAIC Group will center its emissions‑reduction efforts on the product side, while accelerating expansion into both the production and usage phases, with a particular focus on developing new‑energy vehicles.

　　William Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of NIO, hopes that industry stakeholders will work together to forge a consensus and set clear emissions‑reduction targets for the supply chain; establish collaborative alliances to jointly advance a green supply chain; and that national policies will provide support to accelerate progress toward carbon neutrality across the industry.

　　Xin Bao’an, Chairman of State Grid Corporation of China, stated that the company will further refine its standards framework and advance the development and revision of standards related to vehicle‑grid bidirectional interaction, charging and battery‑swapping infrastructure, and distributed energy storage.

　　In response to the automotive industry’s transition toward carbon neutrality, Wan Gang has put forward the following recommendations: First, strengthen joint research and academic exchanges on carbon‑neutral technologies across key sectors, including new‑energy vehicles, energy supply, material sourcing, manufacturing, and mobility. Second, enhance coordination throughout the value chain—both upstream and downstream—and promote the recycling and reuse of critical materials, thereby jointly safeguarding the stability, resilience, and sustainable development of global industrial and supply chains. Third, explore international mutual recognition of low‑carbon certification standards for complete vehicles and key components, and advance the interoperability of carbon‑emission data for automotive products. Finally, establish a cooperative dialogue mechanism among global automakers on low‑carbon management policies and related areas, fostering an international framework for low‑carbon governance in the automotive sector that is grounded in fairness and centered on collaboration.