China Boosts the Development of the Automobile Power Battery Industry

To accelerate Chinas development of the automobile power battery industry and thus promote a healthy and sustainable development of the new-energy automobile industry, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China (MIIT) published the Action Plan for Promoting the Development of the Automobile Power Battery Industry on March 1, 2017, joined by three other premier central government agencies, i.e., the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF). The Plan calls for continuing improving performance, quality and safety of existing products and further reducing costs. The Plan sets the goal of having more than 100 gigawatts of total power battery capacity and having internationally-competitive leading enterprises with sales scale over 40 gigawatts, by 2020. To effectuate the goal, the Plan calls on the government to increase support for the industry, via multiple measures including setting up power battery industry development fund, utilizing existing government funds for industrial development and technological improvement, and implementing preferential tax policies.