New EV National Standard Takes Effect July 1: Mandates Physical "One-Touch Power Off" and Tightens Vehicle and Battery Safety Requirements

Starting July 1, 2024, two mandatory national standards—the "Safety Requirements for Electric Vehicles" and the "Safety Requirements for Traction Batteries Used in Electric Vehicles"—officially came into effect. For vehicle-level safety, the new standards mandate, for the first time, the inclusion of a physical "one-touch power cutoff" device to replace software-based controls, ensuring reliable and immediate disconnection of the high-voltage circuit during emergencies such as severe collisions or fires. Regarding traction battery safety, the updated standards raise the requirements for thermal propagation testing, explicitly stipulating that battery packs must neither catch fire nor explode during such tests. Even if a single cell undergoes thermal runaway, the system must promptly issue an alarm, and any resulting smoke must not pose a hazard to occupants. Additionally, the new national standards introduce new test items, including underbody impact tests for both the complete vehicle and its traction battery, as well as safety tests conducted after repeated fast-charging cycles, further strengthening safety performance requirements for electric vehicles across diverse real-world scenarios.