NEV Penetration Rate Surpasses 60% for the First Time: Policy and Technology Drive Industry Transformation

Latest industry data shows that the domestic retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China exceeded 60% for the first time in April 2026, meaning 3 out of every 5 new cars sold were NEVs. Behind this milestone breakthrough lies the dual empowerment of precise policy support and iterative upgrades of core technologies, marking the official entry of China's automotive industry into a new development phase dominated by new energy.

The leapfrog growth in penetration rate is inseparable from the continuous efforts of top-level design. Earlier, eight ministries and commissions including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) jointly issued the Work Plan for Stabilizing Growth in the Automotive Industry (2025-2026), clarifying the development blueprint of 15.5 million NEV sales in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 20%. The plan launched more than 60 detailed measures, focusing on both supply and demand sides: on the consumer side, it extended preferential policies such as NEV purchase tax exemption and vehicle and vessel tax reduction, promoted the addition of over 700,000 NEVs in the public sector across 25 pilot cities, and launched a pilot program to address shortcomings in county-level charging and swapping infrastructure, striving to achieve "full coverage in every township"; on the supply side, it prioritizes supporting breakthroughs in key technologies such as automotive chips, solid-state batteries, and artificial intelligence, and advances the production access and road operation pilot of L3-level intelligent connected vehicles. A relevant person in charge of MIIT stated that the plan adheres to the principles of "precision, practicality, and innovation", accurately grasping industry development trends while addressing pain points such as insufficient effective demand and inadequate industrial chain resilience through tangible policy combinations.

Technological innovation has provided core impetus for the penetration rate breakthrough. Currently, China's NEVs have achieved a qualitative transformation from "cost-performance advantage" to "systematic technological leadership": in the power battery sector, the installed capacity of lithium iron phosphate batteries has remained above 75%, with BYD's Blade Battery and CATL's Kirin Battery enabling driving ranges to easily exceed 1,000 kilometers; Changan Automobile has launched mass production of semi-solid-state batteries, with energy density moving towards 350-500Wh/kg; in the electric drive and electronic control field, GAC Aion's Quark Electric Drive 2.0 achieves an efficiency of 98.5%, while 800V high-voltage platforms and silicon carbide technologies from enterprises such as Huawei and NIO realize the efficient experience of "10 minutes of charging, 400 kilometers of range"; in intelligent manufacturing, Seres Super Factory has achieved 100% automation rate, with AI visual inspection and vehicle-cloud collaborative control becoming industry standards. More stringent safety standards have been simultaneously implemented: the 2025 new national standard mandates that battery cells "do not catch fire or explode" after thermal runaway, forcing the industry to upgrade towards "intrinsic safety".

Notably, technological breakthroughs in the domestic market are simultaneously reshaping the global industrial pattern. The International Energy Agency's Global EV Outlook 2026 shows that global electric vehicle sales exceeded 20 million in 2025, with the Chinese market contributing core growth momentum; China's NEV market share is expected to approach 60% in 2026. Meanwhile, the wave of "intelligent cooperation" between traditional carmakers and new forces is accelerating: SAIC-GM-Wuling has deepened cooperation with Huawei in intelligent driving, and Volkswagen has expanded its partnership with XPeng in electronic and electrical architecture, forming a complementary pattern of "traditional carmakers supplementing scale, new forces supplementing technology" and driving the industry's transformation from "winning by quantity" to "winning by intelligence".

Industry experts analyze that the penetration rate exceeding 60% marks NEVs' transformation from "optional consumer goods" to "mainstream consumer goods". Future policies will continue to focus on key areas such as optimizing charging and swapping infrastructure, facilitating used car circulation, and industrializing intelligent connected technologies. With the continuous release of technological iterations and policy dividends, China's automotive industry will not only consolidate its leading position in the global new energy market but also build an irreplicable competitive advantage in the new track of intelligent connected vehicles.