Safety standards for NEVs in the making

China's first testing center for new energy vehicles started up in Chongqing recently. It will help the country promote safety and technical testing standards for NEVs. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

China's first testing center for new energy vehicles started up in Chongqing recently, the Chongqing Traffic Police Corps said.

The center — Chongqing Jincheng Vehicle Testing Center — is in the city's Yubei district. The station is equipped with special testing devices for NEV batteries, machinery and controllers, covering detection for charging, electrical safety, on-board comprehensiveness and full vehicle safety, the police said.

According to Peng Minggang, an officer, China's NEV industry has stepped into a new era in recent years, with the number of such vehicles in the country exceeding 12 million, an increase of more than 610 times over 2012. The number of NEVs in Chongqing alone exceeds 240,000 and is still increasing.

However, safety and technical testing standards for NEVs have not been established on a national level. Safety issues involving NEV batteries and brakes have been public concerns.

Jointly promoted by the traffic administration bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, the municipal traffic police corps and China Automotive Engineering Research Institute Co, the country's first NEV testing center, was established in the southwestern municipality in July. It offers online and offline NEV testing.

Peng said local traffic control administrations will try to improve the testing in a more scientific, accurate and efficient way based on the large amount of test data from the center, and a testing line for large NEVs in the center will open in the near future.