One of China’s largest state-owned carmakers has stopped production of a sports utility model following a ruling by Beijing that EV batteries must meet certain criteria before they attract State subsidies.
JAC Motors has stopped production of its iEV6s electric sports utility vehicle (SUV), which had been powered by Samsung SDI’s batteries, exclusively chosen by the carmaker.
Under the original contract, JAC would have ordered 50 million 18650 cylindrical battery cells just this year.
Because the batteries did not meet the criteria, which include firms agreeing to extended inspections, it meant the vehicles in which they are used will not be eligible for subsidies.
Only firms whose batteries meet the criteria will be included on a new list, which will go live in July next year.
Fellow Korean battery maker LG Chem has also failed to get its batteries on the new list, which has come from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Both firms are reportedly planning to reapply for a fifth round of certification next month.
Bernstein Research analyst Mark C. Newman said China’s exclusion of LG Chem, Samsung SDI and other foreign battery makers from their list of certified EV suppliers showed the protectionist threat from China was ‘still real’.
