Tax rebate cut
On October 12, China's Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration issued Announcement No. 29 of 2026, cutting the VAT export rebate rate for new energy vehicles from 13% to 9% effective April 1, 2027. The change covers 67 product categories, including both battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models.
Using an industry-average battery capacity of 50 kWh per vehicle, the 571,000 new energy vehicle exports in September correspond to roughly 28 GWh of monthly overseas battery demand. For a battery-electric model with a $20,000 free-on-board price, the 4-percentage-point rebate cut would compress per-vehicle profit by about $800, based on a rough calculation.
September export figures
The China Passenger Car Association reported 558,000 new energy passenger vehicle exports in September, up 163.5% year on year. Under China Association of Automobile Manufacturers figures, new energy vehicle exports totaled 571,000 units, up about 1.6 times.
BYD accounted for 31.5% of September new energy passenger vehicle export share, with battery supply handled entirely by its subsidiary FinDreams Battery. BYD recorded 175,877 exports in September, followed by Chery with 85,990 and Geely with 72,893.
EU price undertakings
On October 8-9, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and European Commission Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic co-chaired the second meeting of the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism in Beijing. The two sides reached an understanding on hybrid vehicle trade in a manner consistent with WTO rules and confirmed they would continue to advance price undertakings and the review procedure in the EU's electric vehicle anti-subsidy case.