[SMM Analysis] Hunan Province's Special Action to Boost Consumption Stimulates the New Energy Vehicle Industry

On March 28, 2025, the General Office of the People's Government of Hunan Province officially issued the "Special Action Plan for Boosting Consumption in Hunan Province" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). The Plan aims to systematically expand the consumption and upgrade the industry of new energy vehicles (NEVs) through dual-side reforms on supply and demand, innovation of consumption scenarios, and policy coordination.

I. Core Policy Objectives and Quantitative Targets

• The sales proportion of new energy passenger vehicles will reach over 40% in 2025, a significant increase compared to the current market penetration rate (assuming 25% in 2023), with an estimated annual growth of over 5 percentage points.

• The cumulative target for charging pile construction is set at 500,000 units, with a focus on urban public areas and county-level markets. The participation of social capital in charging facility construction is a key path.

• The "trade-in" policy is expected to drive sales in the automotive, home appliance, and home decoration sectors exceeding 80 billion yuan. Policies such as NEV trade-in subsidies and old battery buyback will stimulate the demand for replacement.

• For public service vehicles, the proportion of NEVs in newly added and updated public service vehicles will be increased by over 10%, enhancing the demonstration effect of government procurement on the market.

• The optimization of peak and off-peak electricity pricing will adjust the time-of-use electricity pricing policy for electric vehicle charging to reduce the overall usage cost for users.

II. Implementation Path and Industry Opportunities

• Income Growth and Cost Optimization: Policies such as vocational skills training and expansion of medical insurance reimbursement scope will increase residents' purchasing power for vehicles. Combined with the purchase tax exemption for NEVs and trade-in subsidies (with a new purchase subsidy ratio of 15%), the threshold for purchasing vehicles will be further reduced.

• Alleviating Range Anxiety: The construction target of 500,000 charging piles will mitigate "range anxiety," especially in county-level markets. The pilot of "photovoltaic-storage-charging" integrated stations (such as the "photovoltaic + cold chain logistics" model by Sungrow in Shandong) can expand coverage in the county-level markets.

• Accelerated Technology Iteration: Policies encourage the integrated development of "vehicle-energy-road-cloud," promoting the application of intelligent and connected vehicle technologies.

• Circular Economy Layout: Pilot policies for the cascaded utilization of power batteries have driven GEM Co., Ltd. to build a "battery bank" platform. Monitoring battery health through blockchain technology can reduce the cost of cascaded utilization by 40%.

• Low-altitude Economy Integration: Pilots in Zhangjiajie and Changsha for low-altitude flight experiences and drone light shows may create demand for charging infrastructure for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

III. Industry Challenges and Execution Risks

• Local Fiscal Implementation Capability: The actual implementation rate of NEV trade-in subsidies in a certain province is less than 60%. It is necessary to pay attention to the efficiency of subsidy fund disbursement in Hunan and the coordination mechanism between the central and local governments.

• Technical Standards and Regulatory Lag: Standards for autonomous driving data security and charging facility compatibility have not been unified, which may restrict user experience. It is suggested to refer to the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act to establish a tiered control system.

• Intensified Market Competition: The sales target forces automakers to increase market deployment​, but the risk of price wars may squeeze profit margins. It is necessary to pay attention to differentiated product layouts (such as high-end electric vehicle models and commercial electric trucks).

IV. Investment and Industry Recommendations

• Charging Infrastructure Operators: Layouts of operators such as TELD and Star Charge in Hunan.

• Intelligent and Connected Technology Companies: Involving vehicle-road coordination and virtual power plants (such as Tesla's Powerwall home energy storage system).

• County-level Market Penetration: Combining policy-supported county-level logistics and distribution system construction, develop economical electric vehicle models and fast-charging solutions suitable for rural markets.

• Cultural Tourism Scene Integration: Collaborate with scenic spots to build integrated projects of "green transportation + tourism," such as electric shuttle buses in Zhangjiajie scenic area and linked discounts for tickets and charging piles.

Hunan Province's policy takes NEVs as the core lever for consumption boosting, adopting a three-in-one strategy of "sales target - infrastructure guarantee - scenario innovation" to transform the industry from "policy-driven" to "market-driven." If implemented effectively, Hunan may become a new growth pole for the NEV market in central and western China and provide a model for the integration of "green consumption + industrial upgrading" nationwide.

SMM New Energy Industry Research Department

Cong Wang 021-51666838

Xiaodan Yu 021-20707870

Rui Ma 021-51595780

Disheng Feng 021-51666714

Yujun Liu 021-20707895

Yanlin Lü 021-20707875

Zhicheng Zhou 021-51666711

Haohan Zhang 021-51666752

Zihan Wang 021-51666914

Xiaoxuan Ren 021-20707866

Jie Wang 021-51595902

Yang Xu 021-51666760

Boling Chen 021-51666836