Commercial EV Battery Standards: Legal & Quality Compliance

While promotingautomotive development,China is working to establish battery quality standards and warranty periods for commercial new energy buses.However,these requirements have not yet been clearly defined at the legal level and are instead found in contracts and agreements between various stakeholders.

I.Legal Quality Requirements

Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration for Market Regulation have issued regulations such as the Administrative Measures for Supervision of Production Consistency of Vehicle Manufacturers and Products and the Access Management Rules for Commercial Vehicle Manufacturers and Products,which standardize market access for vehicle manufacturers but do not specifically address battery quality standards or warranty periods for commercial new energy buses.

The Ministry of Finance,Ministry of Science and Technology,Ministry of Industry and Information Technology,and National Development and Reform Commission stated in the Notice on Financial Support Policies for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles (2016-2020) that new energy vehicle manufacturers must provide quality guarantees for power batteries and other energy storage devices,drive motors,and motor controllers.For passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles (including buses,special-purpose vehicles,and trucks),the warranty periods should be no less than 8 years or 120,000 kilometers and 5 years or 200,000 kilometers,respectively.However,these regulations do not specify how the warranty period should be calculated.

II.Contractual Standards

In the absence of clear legal regulations on battery quality and warranty periods for commercial new energy buses,these standards are primarily defined in contracts between battery manufacturers and vehicle manufacturers,as well as between vehicle manufacturers and bus operators,including battery sales contracts,technical/quality agreements,after-sales service agreements,cooperation agreements,purchase contracts,bidding documents,and warranty manuals.This may lead to multiple or inconsistent provisions within the same document.

2.Common contractual terms include: "5-year warranty,replacement provided if battery degradation exceeds 20%," "if battery degradation is greater than 25%,the manufacturer must replace it with a same-brand battery free of charge," or "after 5 years of use,the actual usable battery capacity after degradation shall not be less than 80% of the rated capacity." Although these regulations lack explicit legal backing,they provide certain operational rules for the industry,ensuring that consumer interests are not compromised.

Overall,Chinas battery quality standards and warranty periods for commercial new energy buses are still in development.Until clear legal regulations are established,these standards will continue to be defined through contracts and agreements.While this approach may introduce some uncertainty and inconsistency,it reflects Chinas commitment to standardizing the new energy vehicle market.As regulations evolve,more uniform and explicit battery quality standards and warranty periods will emerge,promoting the healthy and orderly development of the commercial new energy bus industry.