A visitor takes photos of a Chinese brand new energy car at the Thailand International Motor Show in Bangkok, Thailand on Dec. 6, 2023. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

By LIU Yin and ZHONG Jianli

The global sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) reached 9.75 million in the first three quarters of 2023, with China accounting for 6.28 million. This data was presented by Wan Gang, president of the China Association for Science and Technology during the 2023 World New Energy Vehicle Congress held in early December in south China's Hainan province.

"Developing NEVs is crucial for the global automotive industry to achieve green, low-carbon and sustainable development," said Chen Jiachang, vice minister of science and technology.

Chen added that China has been consistently advancing R&D of key core technologies for NEVs and bolstering the two-way development of the NEV industrial and innovation chains. The continuous improvement in technological research and industrialization has been pivotal in propelling the comprehensive marketization of NEVs.

From January to October this year, China saw both production and sales of NEVs surpass seven million, with a market penetration rate exceeding 30 percent. Notably, Hainan province, the first province in the nation to publicly announce a sales ban on fuel vehicles by 2030, has achieved a NEV market penetration rate of nearly 50 percent.

Feng Fei, secretary of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee, said the province is developing the entire NEV industrial chain, encompassing research, design, manufacturing and sales. It is also actively promoting the access and trial operation of intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs), aiming to establish a smart transportation system and an ICV networking application demonstration area.

The "Roadmap 1.0 for Green and Low-carbon Development of the Automotive Industry" was officially released during the congress. For the first timeatindustry level, it explicitly defined the carbon emissions accounting scope of the automotive industry and outlined the vision for green and low-carbon development. 

"Automobiles are a significant source of carbon emissions in China. In 2022, the carbon emissions from vehiclesaccountedfor approximately eight percent of the total emissions and 80 percent of the emissions in the transportation sector," said Li Jun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, adding that the country still anticipates an approximately 200 million increase in automobile ownership, with the domestic total vehicle sales expected to exceed 30 million by 2030, posing a challenge for achieving carbon peaking.

According to Li, the vehicle industry should steadily transition from the control of energy consumption to the management of carbon emissions, and focus on promoting green and low-carbon technological innovation, and establish eco-friendly and low-carbon manufacturing systems.

Wan stressed that global automotive industries should strengthen collaborative breakthroughs in key technologies such as power battery systems, new chassis architectures, and autonomous driving systems. He also highlighted the significance of hydrogen energy for achieving a green and low-carbon transformation, and emphasized the need to a focus on core technological innovations in hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles.