China considering EV acceleration limits to curb high-speed accidents

"The draft for the proposed regulation was released by the Ministry of Public Security on November 10. If approved, the regulation would be a national standard. Under the proposal, all passenger vehicles would start in a state where acceleration from 0-100 km/h (0-60 mph) would take no less than five seconds. This rule would apply to both pure EVs and plug-in hybrids, and it is aimed at preventing unintended acceleration caused by driver inexperience or surprise torque delivery."

"The public has until January 10, 2026, to submit feedback before the rule is finalized, as noted in a CNEV Post report. Authorities have stated that the change reflects growing safety concerns amidst the arrival of more powerful electric cars. The new regulation would make it mandatory for drivers to deliberately engage performance modes, ensuring they are aware and ready for their vehicles' increased power output before accelerating."

"China's EV sector has seen an explosion of high-powered models, some capable of 0-100 km/h acceleration in under two seconds. These speeds were once reserved for supercars, but some electric cars such as the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra offer such performance at an affordable cost. However, authorities have observed that this performance has led to an uptick in accidents. I recent years, incidents of crashes involving lack of control in vehicles with rapid acceleration have risen, as per an explanatory note accompanying the draft."

A draft regulation released November 10 by the Ministry of Public Security would establish a national standard limiting default acceleration on passenger vehicles. Under the proposal, all pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars would start in a mode where 0–100 km/h acceleration takes no less than five seconds, with faster performance requiring deliberate driver activation of performance modes. The proposal aims to prevent unintended acceleration and address rising crashes linked to powerful EVs. Public feedback is open until January 10, 2026. Regulators cited an increase in high-performance electric models and related control-loss incidents as justification.

Read at TESLARATI