New laws introduced in China aim to improve the safety of electric vehicle (EV) battery packs, including a “no fire, no explosion” requirement focusing on eliminating battery fires and subsequent hazards.
The regulations will bring global benefits given the dominance of China in the EV battery supply chains and their proliferation across auto brands, including Tesla, BYD and Toyota.
According to CarNewsChina, the new rules come into effect on January 1, 2026, and they “will require automakers to optimise battery structures and thermal management systems to improve the overall safety of new energy vehicles”.
‘New energy vehicles’ is a term used in China to group all electrified vehicles, including hybrids as well as 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 fire at the General Motors Advance Design Studio in California in October 2025 is thought to have originated from lithium-ion batteries, while several fires aboard shipping vessels have been blamed on EVs.
In July 2025, a major 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 new laws require battery packs to be able to withstand higher temperatures without catching fire.
This looks to prevent both a fire and events such as ‘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 a further hazard for firefighters and the public, with the new laws mandating that fumes must be contained to protect occupants from them in the event of an incident.
More stringent impact tests are also among the changes designed to improve the overall safety of EVs.
This follows China’s recent ban on Tesla-style electrically operated retractable door handles, with all new designs mandated to include mechanical operation enabling them to work even when the vehicle has no power.
The battery regulations bring arguably greater global benefits given China is the world’s largest supplier of batteries for the auto industry by a considerable margin.
China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) produces more 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 of CATL’s battery factories located close by; both Tesla and CATL have plants in Berlin, Germany, as well.
The next biggest battery maker (by market share) is BYD, which sold more vehicles than Tesla globally in 2024, although this figure includes both EV and hybrid vehicles.
BYD, which has a history of making mobile phone batteries among other items, produces its own ‘Blade’ batteries it says can withstand impacts and are more stable (i.e. do not catch fire) than rivals.
The world’s largest brand by sales, Toyota – often criticised for its slower rollout of EVs compared to its competitors – plans to open a battery plant in China in 2027.
