Technical Requirements for New Energy Trucks Exempting Vehicle Purchase Tax

Latest Announcement on Technical Requirements for New Energy Special Vehicles Exempted from Vehicle Purchase Tax:

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Taxation Administration (collectively referred to as the "three departments") jointly issued the "Announcement on Adjusting the Technical Requirements for New Energy Vehicles Exempted from Vehicle Purchase Tax" (Announcement of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Taxation Administration of the People's Republic of China No. 32 of 2023, hereinafter referred to as the "Technical Requirements Announcement"), clarifying the technical requirements for new energy vehicles eligible for vehicle purchase tax exemption. To better understand and implement the "Technical Requirements Announcement", the responsible person from the Equipment Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology provided an interpretation of the "Technical Requirements Announcement". Among them, the requirements for new energy special vehicles have also been raised.

The "Technical Requirements Announcement" takes into account factors such as technological progress and future development, moderately raises the requirements for mature technologies that have already been widely used, and provides preferential support for new technologies and new models such as low-temperature attenuation and battery swapping. This is conducive to enhancing the technical level of products and promoting model innovation. Here are the details:

First, it has raised the requirements for existing technical indicators such as vehicle energy consumption, range, and energy density of the battery power system. In the case of fuel cell vehicles, based on the progress of the fuel cell vehicle demonstration work, the requirements for the pure hydrogen range of fuel cell vehicles, the system rated power, the ratio of system rated power to drive motor rated power, etc. have been optimized. In addition, indicators such as the starting temperature of the fuel cell, the rated power density of the fuel cell stack, and the rated power density of the system have also been supplemented.

Second, new technical requirements for low-temperature mileage attenuation have been added. To guide industry enterprises to continuously enhance the cold resistance performance of new energy vehicle products, the "Technical Requirements Announcement" stipulates that for pure electric passenger cars and N1-class pure electric trucks that undergo testing in accordance with "Appendix A" of GB/T 18386.1 "Test Methods for Energy Consumption and Driving Range of Electric Vehicles - Part 1: Light-duty Vehicles", if the low-temperature mileage attenuation rate is no more than 35%, the battery system energy density can be relaxed to 95Wh/kg, and the driving range requirement for pure electric passenger cars can be relaxed to 120km.

Thirdly, specific requirements for battery swapping mode vehicles have been clarified. The battery swapping mode has certain advantages in reducing purchase costs, eliminating range anxiety, and enhancing safety levels. To support the innovative development of the battery swapping mode, based on industry development and standard implementation situations, the "Technical Requirements Announcement" stipulates that related vehicles must comply with the GB/T 40032 "Electric Vehicle Battery Swapping Safety Requirements" standard. At the same time, to ensure genuine battery swapping and usability, the applicant is required to provide proof materials demonstrating the provision of battery swapping services.

The implementation time requirement for the "Technical Requirements Announcement" is that from January 1, 2024, for new models applying to be included in the "New Energy Vehicle Model Catalogue for Vehicle Purchase Tax Exemption" (hereinafter referred to as the "Tax Exemption Catalogue"), they must meet the requirements of this "Technical Requirements Announcement". Models that were already included in the "Vehicle Purchase Tax Exemption Model Catalogue for New Energy Vehicles" and remained valid before December 31, 2023, will automatically be transferred to the "Tax Exemption Catalogue", and will still be eligible for vehicle purchase tax exemption policies from January 1, 2024, to May 31, 2024. Starting from June 1, 2024, models that do not meet this "Technical Requirements Announcement" will be removed from the "Tax Exemption Catalogue". Relevant models need to complete the policy transition compliance-related work within the transition period. 

It should be noted that historical vehicle model data should be promptly updated. For historical vehicle models that have been included in the "Tax Exemption and Reduction Catalogue", the "Tax Exemption" and "Battery Swap Mode" labels need to be promptly retransmitted. For battery swap mode vehicles, in addition, a third-party test report that meets standards such as GB/T 40032 "Electric Vehicle Battery Swap Safety Requirements" and other proof materials related to battery swap service guarantees must also be provided. The tax department will handle the tax exemption procedures based on the relevant labels. 

The requirements for new energy have been raised, which is beneficial for stabilizing the special vehicle market, guiding technological progress, promoting energy conservation consumption, and ensuring product safety.