In June and August 2024, the Chinese government released drafts of the Stage 6 fuel economy regulations and Corporate Average Fuel Consumption (CAFC = Corporate Average Fuel Consumption), which are scheduled to be implemented starting in 2026, and began soliciting public comments.

The Stage 5 fuel efficiency regulations aim to achieve an industry corporate average fuel consumption of 4.0L/100km (4.6L/100km in NEDC and WLTC modes) by 2025. The Stage 6 fuel efficiency regulations set 2030 as the target year, and set the target for corporate average fuel consumption in the industry (CAFC) at 3.3L/100km (WLTC).

In addition, CAFC will be obtained by converting electricity costs into fuel efficiency. And preferential measures are set for fuel-efficient vehicles that improve fuel efficiency. According to estimates by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Stage 6 fuel economy regulations will be 40-50% stricter than the Stage 5 regulations, which will end in 2025.

Since this is a regulation that automakers must meet (if they do not, they will not be able to produce and sell new products that exceed the fuel efficiency limits), they will need to accelerate the development and launch of NEV products and passenger car products that use fuel-efficient technologies.