China’s 2018 battery rules place collection responsibility on vehicle producers

China’s seven-authority interim EV battery recycling measures took effect on 1 August 2018. They placed primary collection responsibility on vehicle producers and allocated duties across design, production, use and recycling.

Vehicle producers had to establish collection outlets, gather waste batteries and transfer them to partner businesses. Joint networks involving battery makers, vehicle dismantlers and recyclers were encouraged.

Design requirements addressed dismantling and recyclability. Battery producers were to provide disassembly and storage information, while vehicle makers recorded vehicle-battery code links and uploaded traceability data.

The measures were repealed on 1 April 2026 and replaced by the collection and processing framework in Joint Order 73. The 2018 document remains a record of the development of producer responsibility in China.