The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, had asked its local branches to report on investment in new-energy vehicles around the country before November 18, Yicai.com said, citing automaker insiders, adding that the move sends a signal that the regulator is preventing overcapacity.
Yicai.com obtained a copy of the "Notice on the Survey of New Energy Vehicle Production and Projects" issued by the NDRC from an insider at an automaker, which asks local NDRCs to provide information on projects, including new electric vehicle projects approved and filed since 2015.
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The document also asked localities to provide information on the planning and investment of pure electric vehicle projects in their regions, including detailed reports on the new energy vehicle and parts projects that Evergrande Group and Baoneng Group have invested in and proposed to invest in since 2017, including land occupation, construction content, project progress and completed investment.
The move is aimed at strengthening investment supervision and promoting the high-quality development of the new energy vehicle industry, the document said.
However, the report cited another unnamed auto company insider as saying that in addition to clarifying the basic situation, the move also sends a signal to prevent the current overcapacity of new energy vehicles.
China aims to have 20% penetration rate of new energy vehicles by 2025 in new plan
China previously released its New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021-2035), in which the target for new-energy vehicle sales as a percentage of total new-vehicle sales was lowered to 20 percent, down from the previously mentioned 25 percent.
At the same time, the plan emphasizes the construction of key technologies and infrastructure, which Yicai.com cites as an indication that the policy direction of the new-energy vehicle industry is placing greater emphasis on quality.
China's A-share new energy vehicle sector fell today on the back of this report. The big three US-listed Chinese EV companies also fell in pre-market trading, with Li Auto down more than 13 percent, XPeng down 10 percent and NIO down over 8 percent.