The Strictest Battery Safety Regulation in History Topples the Dominoes

The consensus in the NEV industry is that the "first half of the game is electrification, and the second half is intelligence." Amidst the rapid transformation of the industry, power batteries, as the "heart" of NEVs, have their safety issues hanging like a "Sword of Damocles" over the industry.

It is worth noting that with the gradual application of new EV technologies, the safety level of power batteries has been continuously improving. Under the new development landscape of the industry, new changes have also come to the national standards for battery safety.

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the mandatory national standard "Safety Requirements for Traction Battery of Electric Vehicle" (GB38031-2025) (hereinafter referred to as the "new national standard"), which is expected to be officially implemented on July 1, 2026. The new standard includes 7 cell tests and 17 battery pack or system test items, and is dubbed the "strictest battery safety regulation in history."

"This marks a significant technological advancement in safety for China's NEV and power battery industries," commented Dong Yang, Secretary General of the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance.

Gasgoo has learned that with the release of the new standard, a technological revolution centered on "safety" is quietly reshaping the industry landscape. This policy-driven storm has toppled the first domino, triggering a chain reaction among automakers, battery enterprises, consumers, and even the entire industry chain.

No fire, no explosion becomes mandatory standard

In the process of automotive industry transformation, incidents of NEVs catching fire, spontaneous combustion, and even explosion occur from time to time. The industry's attention to the safety of power batteries has only increased.

The newly issued national standard includes 7 cell tests and 17 battery pack or system test items. Among these 24 standard items, except for "overcharge," "external short circuit," and "temperature cycling," all other items have been revised or added. Among them, safety after fast charging cycles, thermal runaway, and bottom impact are new or significantly revised items.

The current power battery safety standard in force (GB38031-2020) allows a "5-minute buffer period" for thermal runaway incidents—permitting the battery not to catch fire or explode within 5 minutes after thermal runaway, providing an escape window for occupants. The new national standard, for the first time, lists "no fire, no explosion" as a mandatory requirement, dubbed by the industry as the "strictest power battery safety regulation."

When the thermal runaway test examines the safety protection capability after a thermal runaway caused by an internal short circuit in a battery cell, the new national standard adds "internal heating" to the 2020 version's "recommended external heating and nail penetration as trigger methods." It not only further clarifies the temperature requirements, power-on/off status, observation time, and vehicle test conditions for the battery under test but also proposes strict requirements of "no fire, no explosion (alarm still required), and no harm to occupants from fumes."

Some industry insiders have stated that this is the first time in China that "no fire, no explosion" for power batteries has been elevated from a corporate technological reserve to a mandatory requirement. While imposing higher requirements on NEVs, it will also better ensure the safety of drivers and passengers. The new national standard has completely eliminated the industry's complacency about thermal runaway risks, marking the era of "zero tolerance" for power battery safety.

From a data perspective, statistics from the Ministry of Emergency Management in 2024 show that among EV fire incidents, battery damage caused by chassis impacts accounted for 37%, and thermal runaway triggered by fast charging accounted for 21%.

The new national standard adds a bottom impact test, focusing on the protection capability of the battery after a bottom impact. It requires that after the battery pack is impacted three times by a 30mm diameter steel ball with an energy of 150J, there should be no leakage, shell rupture, fire, or explosion, and it must meet the insulation resistance requirements.

Liu Guibin, Secretary General of the Electric Vehicle Sub-Technical Committee of the National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization and Senior Technical Director of the China Automotive Technology and Research Center, stated in a media interview that there are no international regulations regarding bottom impacts on NEVs, and China is the first to "take the plunge."

In addition, the new national standard also adds a safety test after fast charging cycles. The test object is a battery cell with a total charging time of no more than 15 minutes when charged from 20% SOC to 80% SOC. The technical requirement is to conduct an external short circuit test after 300 fast charging cycles, with the requirement of no fire and no explosion.

At a time when fast charging technology is entering a rapid development phase, the proposal of this test requirement is particularly crucial and necessary, as it can urge automakers to balance charging speed with product safety and reliability in the product design process.

Furthermore, the new national standard also clarifies the determination conditions for the same type. If partial changes occur to the battery pack or system, supplementary tests on the technical requirements related to the changed parameters are allowed according to the standard. After approval, it is considered the same type, and there is no need to conduct all tests again.

Forcing enterprises to upgrade their technologies

The "2024 NEV Insurance Development Report" shows that, based on reports of NEV fire incidents from January to November 2022, 22.67% of vehicles caught fire during charging, 16% caught fire while driving, 38.67% caught fire while stationary, 9.33% caught fire due to collisions, and other causes accounted for 13.33%. Therefore, when "no fire, no explosion" changes from a corporate slogan to a regulatory baseline, the gears of industrial technological upgrading suddenly accelerate.

"Two years ago, during the survey conducted by the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, it was found that battery enterprises and automakers had made multiple technological advancements in safety and successfully applied them. Significant progress has been made in areas such as intrinsic cell safety, cell-to-cell thermal insulation, battery pack temperature control, thermal-electrical separation after individual cell thermal runaway, and optimized structural design of battery packs to prevent thermal runaway, and these advancements have been successfully applied in new products." In response to the release of the new national standard, Dong Yang publicly shared the story behind it.

"Both mainstream power battery enterprises and automakers have stated that their future new products can achieve 'only smoke, no fire,' which is the embodiment of no fire and no explosion in this new national standard." Dong Yang mentioned that at that time, the Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance had proposed suggestions to government authorities to formulate stricter and more specific safety control standards. The promulgation and implementation of this new national standard is a concrete manifestation of the industry's technological progress and a natural outcome.

In February 2024, the Electric Vehicle Sub-Technical Committee of the National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization conducted a survey of 36 automakers and battery enterprises. It was found that 78% of the enterprises already possess the technological reserves for power batteries to achieve "no fire, no explosion," meaning that even if a single cell experiences thermal runaway, it will not lead to a fire or explosion of the power battery caused by thermal runaway.

It is reported that the revision and drafting group of the new regulation includes 36 units such as EV automakers, power battery enterprises, third-party testing institutions, and scientific research institutes, with CATL, BYD, CALB, Xiaomi, Tesla, etc., all listed. Currently, although competition in the domestic NEV market is becoming increasingly fierce, the essence of market competition is a technological contest. Nowadays, many "top students" have already "handed in their papers" ahead of time.

For example, Geely released its latest-generation "blade-type" LFP battery—the ShenDun Short Blade Battery—in June 2024. In the "8-needle puncture" test conducted by the China Automotive Technology and Research Center, after the cell was simultaneously punctured by 8 steel needles with a diameter of 5mm and left stationary for 1 hour, it still did not smoke, catch fire, or explode.

In addition, Geely's ShenDun Short Blade Battery cell became the first in the world to pass the 5.8mm real bullet gunshot penetration test. After being penetrated by a 5.8mm automatic rifle bullet at a speed of 920m/s, causing explosive damage with a wound diameter of ≥60mm, the cell did not catch fire or explode.

Gasgoo has learned that Geely has always been pursuing safety redundancy and building vehicles that exceed national standards. In 2024, Geely conducted a durability test on the battery pack of a Galaxy E5 that had traveled over 300,000 kilometers. After 921 charges, the battery health was still as high as 90.5%, and the battery could be cycled 3,500 times, which translates to over 1 million kilometers in mileage.

In addition, as one of the important drafting units, SVOLT Energy Technology's batteries with core products such as the Fortress Off-Road and Fengxing Short Blade all meet the standards and have achieved full compliance with national standards ahead of schedule. Among them, facing the 150J bottom impact resistance benchmark specified by the national standard, SVOLT Energy Technology's Fortress Off-Road Battery adopts an 8+4 layout, with a bottom impact resistance capability of 1,000J, more than 6 times the 150J specified by the national standard, continuously leading the industry in upgrading safety standards.

Currently, Wuling's ShenLian Battery 3.0 is further upgraded from the original ShenLian Battery 1.0, setting high requirements for intrinsic cell safety. Through systematic design, separator and electrolyte optimization, it ensures that the battery can still maintain a no-fire state in more sustained and multi-dimensional nail penetration tests. Wuling can meet national standards through external protection design and the iteration of the ShenLian Battery 4.0 thermal-electrical separation system.

Influencing end-user consumer decisions

In 2020, China's NEV penetration rate first exceeded the critical turning point of 5%, reaching 5.4%. China's NEV industry officially crossed the introduction period and entered the growth period. At that time, the standard GB 38031-2020 "Safety Requirements for Traction Battery of Electric Vehicle" for power batteries was issued. Nowadays, China's NEV market penetration rate has exceeded 50% for consecutive months, and national mandatory standards have also ushered in another upgrade.

According to the MIIT, for new models applying for type approval, the regulation will be implemented on July 1, 2026, while for models that have already obtained type approval, the regulation will be implemented on July 1, 2027. This means that approved models have a 1-year transition period but need to complete modifications or exit the market before 2027.

After the release of the new national standard, a consumer in Nanchang stated, "The biggest problem with batteries has not yet been overcome. If the China V and China VI vehicle emission standards are mandatory national regulations, then the new national standard for batteries is a bottom-up demand."

It is reported that against the backdrop of frequent NEV spontaneous combustion incidents making headlines, the new regulation is reshaping consumer perceptions. The "2024 China NEV Consumer Trends Report" shows that 76% of car buyers list "battery safety" as the primary factor in their purchase decisions, surpassing driving range and intelligent configuration. Industry experts also believe that the new "Safety Requirements" can alleviate public concerns about the spontaneous combustion risk of NEVs by publicly ensuring battery safety through rigorous testing.

With the implementation of the new national standard for batteries, the mandatory requirement of "no fire, no explosion" also poses a major challenge to automakers and battery manufacturers. Although 78% of enterprises claim to possess the technological reserves for "no fire, no explosion," their actual compliance capabilities are severely differentiated. This means that there are still 22% of enterprises that do not meet the standards and face elimination.

Behind this technological competition lies a brutal capacity reshuffle.

The new regulation's requirements for power battery safety have shifted from "probability control" to "absolute guarantee," which means that enterprises must achieve technological breakthroughs across the entire chain of materials, processes, and thermal management. Some industry insiders have stated, "The three new testing methods added by the new national standard have been technically implemented in domestic top-tier enterprises, but the popularization among small and medium-sized enterprises still faces cost and technological challenges."

Therefore, for the industry, the new regulation may increase the R&D costs of small and medium-sized enterprises, potentially triggering an industry reshuffle in the short term and promoting industrial concentration and technological standardization.

Raising the industry's safety alert level

"The promulgation and implementation of the new national standard mark a significant advancement in the Chinese government's safety management of NEVs, leading the construction of world standard regulations."Dong Yang stated that the promulgation and implementation of this new national standard will serve as a reference and play a leading role in safety control and product certification for new energy vehicles (NEVs) and power batteries worldwide.

It should be clarified that the release of this new national standard does not mean that NEVs will not catch fire or explode in the future. Dong Yang also pointed out that there are two main aspects to the safety issues of new products. First, it is necessary to explore the boundaries of safety through technological innovation and application practices. Second, the cost of safety-enhancing technical measures must be acceptable to the market.

He expressed that if there is a clear understanding of the internal thermal runaway and thermal propagation laws of NEVs and power batteries, safety issues can be avoided in various application scenarios and stages, which is our ultimate goal.

Currently, many battery enterprises and automakers are continuously promoting solid-state batteries towards "absolute safety." In response, Dong Yang also shared his views, stating, "Solid-state batteries are likely to be safer than current batteries, but they also have safety issues. We cannot relax our current research and prevention efforts on battery safety just because there may be solid-state batteries in the future. Moreover, the cost of all-solid-state batteries needs to be competitive with current batteries."

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Public Security, as of the end of 2024, the nationwide ownership of NEVs reached 31.4 million units, accounting for 8.9% of the total automobile fleet. The number of newly registered NEVs during the year was 11.25 million units, accounting for 41.83% of the total newly registered vehicles.

Today, the NEV market is growing at an unprecedented pace, and the industry is transitioning from high-speed development to a stage of high-quality development, with safety becoming the industry's cornerstone. After the "emergency brake" applied to intelligent driving, the automotive industry is reconstructing market logic with safety as its foundation.

Feng Xingya, Chairman and General Manager of GAC Group, stated at the 2025 GAC Technology Day, "We cannot only talk about experience and ignore safety. Experience can be defined by users, but safety must be defined by automakers." At the launch event of Volvo's new XC90 in Shanghai, 80% of the content, including the endorsement by actor Hu Ge, focused on presenting Volvo's safety.

As the wave of intelligence spurs the development of autonomous driving safety standards, new battery safety regulations form a "dual-wheel drive" industrial safety system with them. This elevation of safety standards is guiding China's NEV industry from a "speed-first" approach to a new development stage of "quality triumphs."

However, the safety issues of NEVs and power batteries are still ongoing. It is reported that the "Inspection Procedures for the Operational Safety Performance of New Energy Vehicles," which came into effect on March 1 this year, complements the newly promulgated national standard. The new national standard is mainly used for product access and certification, while the new annual inspection standard is mainly used for the maintenance and annual inspection of in-use vehicles.

"This standard plays a significant role in the normal and safe use of NEVs and extending their service life. Although the 'Inspection Procedures' are recommended standards, they are mandatory for all inspection institutions, which must improve their inspection capabilities in accordance with the standard requirements. Those who stamp the inspection approval seal will bear legal responsibility. It is hoped that annual inspection institutions will accelerate their capacity-building, and NEV producers and users will also attach importance to the implementation of this standard," Dong Yang emphasized.

Gasgoo's Summary: In this safety revolution, there are no bystanders. From material scientists in laboratories to process engineers on production lines, from family users planning car purchases to operators deploying battery swapping systems, everyone is a crucial link in the domino array. When the strictest battery safety regulations topple the first domino, the entire industry will ultimately build a more solid safety defense line amidst the cascading reactions. This domino effect triggered by policy is propelling China's NEV industry from a stage of scale expansion to a new phase of high-quality development.