Evaluation and analysis of new-energy vehicle industry policies in the context of technical innovation in China

Low-carbon economic development, information and communication technical innovation have been intensifying the pursuit of new-energy vehicles. This emerging sector has far-reaching implications for the country’s industrial competitiveness and for low-carbon transport. The industry, in turn, is affected by state policies, which need to be evaluated in quantitative terms to provide a scientific basis for formulating future policies. Eleven policies that govern the new-energy vehicle industry in China were evaluated quantitatively by using text mining, and a model of a policy modelling consistency (PMC) index was constructed to obtain the PMC index for each policy and to draw a PMC surface graph. Each policy was then evaluated on the basis of its PMC index; its shortcomings were identified by studying the multi-input/output table and the PMC index table; and ways to overcome the shortcomings through optimisation were suggested, namely (1) focusing on long-term planning, (2) offering greater specific and feasible incentives and subsidies and strengthening supervision to ensure that they are not misappropriated, and (3) gradually shifting the focus of policies away from normative guidance towards market-led mechanisms.