China's new‑energy passenger cars have grown heavier: average curb weight
reached 1,704 kg in 2024, roughly 400 kg above 2012 levels, and many family EVs
now approach 2 tons as vehicle widths rose from about 1.7 m in the 2000s to
~1.8 m by 2015. Automaker engineers say each additional 10 mm of body width
allows roughly 0.8 kWh more battery capacity, and some manufacturers fit very
large battery packs—around 700–800 kg—to claim 800–1,000 km ranges. A mandatory
national energy‑consumption standard that took effect on Jan. 1 this year bars
the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology from recording new models
that fail the standard, preventing effectively non‑compliant vehicles from being
produced, sold or registered; regulators say the rule aims to restrain the trend
toward heavier EVs.
