Tougher road tests to raise NEV quality control

China is set to tighten quality oversight for the new energy vehicle sector, raising the mandatory durability road-test mileage to 30,000 kilometers — a level that matches the standard for gasoline cars.

The 15,000 km test was a temporary policy support measure for NEVs. The new unified standard signals the maturity of the NEV sector, said Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association.

A unified standard ensures that long-term reliability issues are thoroughly exposed and the same failure-judgment rules apply to all powertrains, Cui added.

The regulatory push comes as Chinese automakers rush to launch new and updated models while compressing development cycles. In the first five months of 2026, 542 models were launched — an average of 3.6 per day — even as overall domestic sales shrank 20 percent, said He Zhiqi, executive vice-president of BYD, in a July social-media post.

A single new model costs over 1 billion yuan ($140 million) and takes more than two years to develop, yet its market appeal fades within three months, He said.

The industry's rush-to-market mindset has shortened vehicle development cycles. Traditional gasoline cars used to require a 36-month-plus R&D and verification cycle. But, many NEV models complete the process in 18 months, with critical extreme-environment and durability tests often shortened.

Executives have warned that accelerated timelines are leading to skipped verification steps. "To accelerate time-to-market, some brands have cut necessary testing procedures, using consumers as test drivers and burying numerous safety hazards," said Li Fenggang, president of Beijing Hyundai, at an industry forum in mid-July.

Li noted that vehicle development has two phases: design validation and production validation. DV tests design feasibility, while PV ensures tooling and production lines yield consistent, qualified products. Skipping either phase hurts consistency and quality.

Compressed testing and simplified validation are eroding innovation, consumer trust and safety, while damaging the global reputation and exports of China's auto brands, Wang Xicheng, president of Xiangyang Daan Automobile Test Center, said at the forum.

"Quality cannot yield to efficiency, nor compliance to cutthroat competition," Wang added.

Consumers are bearing the brunt of compromised testing standards. Auto-related consumer complaints in China surged in the first half of 2026 and some new models have undergone large-scale recalls within 100 days of being launched.

XPeng recalled more than 30,000 units of its X9 MPV over air-spring defects that could affect handling after use in high-temperature, high-humidity environments, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a notice in late July.

Separately, Nanning in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region reported 1,340 auto complaints in the first half, up 33.6 percent year-on-year. New-car complaints accounted for 60.67 percent of the total and NEV complaints rose sharply, with quality issues including range overstatement, battery degradation and charging incompatibility.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has launched on-site inspections at selected automakers including Chery, Nio and JAC, focusing on intelligent-vehicle safety, design capability and production. Regulators will keep inspecting to ensure vehicle safety remains the absolute baseline.

Fu Yuwu, honorary president of the China Society of Automotive Engineers, said that the shortening of automotive product development cycles is closely tied to technological advancements. In recent years, the application of simulation technologies, platform-based development and modular design has improved development efficiency and reduced costs.

However, technological advances can never replace real-vehicle road tests, Fu added. Extreme-condition tests, including extreme cold, extreme heat, high-altitude, crash, fatigue and durability, are mandatory steps to verify vehicle reliability and ensure safety, and they can never be omitted.

caoyingying@chinadaily.com.cn