China Sets 30% New-Energy Vehicle Target for 2030

The State Council released the ’15th Five-Year Plan’ Carbon Peaking Action Plan on Thursday, setting a target for new-energy vehicles to account for 30% of China’s vehicle fleet by 2030. At the end of 2025 the country’s NEV fleet stood at 43.97 million units, or 12.01% of registered vehicles, meaning the NEV total must more than double to reach the target.

Battery electric vehicles represented 30.22 million units, or 68.74% of the NEV stock at end-2025. The plan sets a goal for new-energy commercial transport vehicles to make up 25% of that segment by 2030 and calls for faster electrification of passenger cars, commercial fleets and public-sector vehicles. It encourages use of NEVs at construction sites, mines, ports and airports and supports wider adoption of new-energy heavy trucks.

To support a larger NEV fleet, the roadmap calls for expanded charging and refueling infrastructure, including conventional charging stations, battery-swapping facilities and refueling networks for green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol. The plan directs development of zero-carbon road transport corridors along national expressways and major freight routes and the creation of zero-carbon waterway corridors, with support for vessels powered by electricity, liquefied natural gas, biodiesel and green methanol.

The action plan sets economy-wide targets for 2030. It aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 17% relative to 2025 and to raise the share of non-fossil energy to 25% of total energy consumption; non-fossil sources made up 21.7% in 2025.

The plan targets installed wind and solar capacity above 2.8 billion kilowatts and operating nuclear capacity of about 110 million kilowatts by 2030. Energy storage goals include 300 million kilowatts of new energy storage capacity and roughly 160 million kilowatts of pumped-storage hydropower. The plan says incremental electricity demand during the 15th Five-Year Plan should be met increasingly by clean generation.

Industrial and investment measures include building roughly 100 national-level zero-carbon parks and about 500 zero-carbon factories during the five-year period. The government plans to strengthen the competitiveness of new-energy, NEV and power-battery industries and to cultivate hydrogen energy and green fuels. The plan proposes a national low-carbon transition fund to mobilize private capital for projects tied to carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.