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Interim Workshop – Study on the Promotion and Adoption of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) in the Field of Urban Logistics Distribution

On April 15, 2021, following on the kick-off workshop in August 2020, the interim workshop on the study “Research on the Promotion and Adoption of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) in the Field of Urban Logistics Distribution” took place. The workshop was jointly organized by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Transport Planning and Research Institute (TPRI) of the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China (MoT) with 16 participants, including policymakers, scholars, technical experts and industry representatives.

In the context of China’s goal to reach peaking of carbon dioxide emissions before 2030, and carbon neutrality by 2060, the transport sector, as one of the major carbon dioxide emitters in China, has an increasingly urgent need to reduce emissions. New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) are an important key to decarbonize transport and in particular freight transport. In the past few years, many Chinese cities have made significant progress in the adoption of NEVs in the field of urban freight logistics distribution. 

However, with the phasing out of NEV purchasing subsidies at the national level, it is necessary to develop and implement holistic and comprehensive strategies and measures in order to overcome existing obstacles and to further promote and adopt NEVs in the urban delivery sector.

The goal of the study is to provide Chinese policy makers and other relevant stakeholders including local transport bureaus, logistics companies, operators of vehicle and charging infrastructure, battery recycling and vehicle maintenance companies with systematic guidelines for the promotion and adoption of NEVs. The focus of the study lays on the analysis and evaluation of policies and support measures targeting the promotion of NEVs in the urban delivery sector as well as the related provision of technical instructions and methodological support on further improvement and roadmap development.

In the context of the study, six pilot cities were selected (Shenzhen, Foshan, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Yinchuan, and Zhangjiakou) and field surveys have been conducted in order to analyze and summarize their experiences, best practice approaches, challenges and lessons learned in the adoption of NEV.

Participants listen to the presentation of the interim report; Picture Source: GIZ

During the workshop, Ms. Tan Xiaoyu from TPRI presented the interim results of the study to the participating Chinese and German experts who commented on the interim report and gave advice on the further research direction. The experts highlighted among others the importance of:

  1. non-fiscal support measures including preferential right of way (RoW), which according to the experts is even more important than subsidies, together with curbing RoW for diesel vehicles,
  2. the optimization of NEV design,
  3. the promotion of technical standardization,
  4. the adaptation of measures to specific local conditions including local energy structure and climatic conditions,
  5. the consideration of issues such as battery recycling and vehicle scrapping,
  6. plate restrictions and driver license issues (e. g. access to different cities in inter-city delivery transport, vehicle type specific licenses)
German experts share experiences; Picture Source: GIZ

Based on the feedback and advice of the experts, the report will be further refined. Besides providing systematic guidelines for the promotion and adoption of NEVs in the urban delivery sector in China, the report aims at contributing to the overall vehicle technology and propulsion development roadmap and respective policy design. The final report will be completed in mid-2021.

If you are interested in knowing more about this research, please feel free to contact us through transition-china@giz.de.