Latest laws introduced in China aim to enhance the protection of electrical vehicle (EV) battery packs, including a “no fire, no explosion” requirement specializing in eliminating battery fires and subsequent hazards.
The regulations will bring global advantages given the dominance of China within the EV battery supply chains and their proliferation across auto brands, including Tesla, BYD and Toyota.
In line with CarNewsChina, the brand new rules come into effect on January 1, 2026, and so they “would require automakers to optimise battery structures and thermal management systems to enhance the general safety of recent energy vehicles”.
‘Latest energy vehicles’ is a term utilized in China to group all electrified vehicles, including hybrids in addition to EVs.
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The “no fire, no explosion” component demands battery packs are made to stricter standards and must not catch fire or explode under test conditions.
A hearth on the General Motors Advance Design Studio in California in October 2025 is assumed to have originated from lithium-ion batteries, while several fires aboard shipping vessels have been blamed on EVs.
In July 2025, a significant transport company banned electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) from its cargo ships based on safety concerns after a rival company lost a vessel carrying EVs and hybrids between China and Mexico.
The brand new laws require battery packs to give you the option to resist higher temperatures without catching fire.
This looks to forestall each a fireplace and events corresponding to ‘thermal runaway’, which has seen EV fires reach temperatures as high as 1000 degrees Celsius, making them difficult to contain and extinguish.
EV battery fires also create toxic fumes, presenting an extra hazard for firefighters and the general public, with the brand new laws mandating that fumes should be contained to guard occupants from them within the event of an incident.
More stringent impact tests are also among the many changes designed to enhance the general safety of EVs.
This follows China’s recent ban on Tesla-style electrically operated retractable door handles, with all recent designs mandated to incorporate mechanical operation enabling them to work even when the vehicle has no power.
The battery regulations bring arguably greater global advantages given China is the world’s largest supplier of batteries for the auto industry by a substantial margin.
China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) produces greater than one-third of the world’s automotive batteries, supplying Tesla, the world’s top-selling electric-only automaker in 2024.
Australia’s supply of Tesla models comes from its plant in Shanghai, China, with one among CATL’s battery factories situated close by; each Tesla and CATL have plants in Berlin, Germany, as well.
The following biggest battery maker (by market share) is BYD, which sold more vehicles than Tesla globally in 2024, although this figure includes each EV and hybrid vehicles.
BYD, which has a history of constructing cell phone batteries amongst other items, produces its own ‘Blade’ batteries it says can withstand impacts and are more stable (i.e. don’t catch fire) than rivals.
The world’s largest brand by sales, Toyota – often criticised for its slower rollout of EVs in comparison with its competitors – plans to open a battery plant in China in 2027.
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
