China’s Passenger Vehicles Have Added Nearly 400 kg in Weight Over 12 Years—It’s Time for China’s New Energy Vehicles to “Slim Down”
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Author:小编   

Data reveals that by 2024, the average curb weight of passenger vehicles in China had climbed to 1,704 kg, marking an increase of nearly 400 kg from 2012. Reflecting on the past, around the year 2000, the width of household new energy vehicles typically hovered around 1.7 meters. However, by 2015, this dimension had expanded to 1.8 meters. Today, it is not uncommon to find household vehicles tipping the scales at close to 2 tons. The trend of vehicles growing larger and heavier has sparked widespread debate. Automobile engineers highlight that for every 10 mm increase in the width of a new energy vehicle’s body, it can accommodate roughly an extra 0.8 kWh of electricity. Yet, experts emphasize that the vehicles' "bulking up" is not solely attributable to increased width. Some automakers, in their quest for extended driving ranges, have equipped vehicles with large battery packs weighing up to 700-800 kg. In more extreme cases, to boost product competitiveness, some have even incorporated amenities like toilets into vehicle designs. To address this issue, a mandatory national standard for electric vehicles was officially put into effect on January 1st of this year. The standard mandates that new vehicle models failing to meet energy consumption criteria will be ineligible for filing with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Consequently, such models will not be permitted for production, sale, or registration. This measure is anticipated to steer new energy vehicles back toward a more standardized size.