China's New Battery Safety Standards Take Effect July 1, Raising Bar from "5-Minute Warning" to "No Fire for 2 Hours"

Starting July 1, 2026, two mandatory national standards—GB 38031-2025 "Safety Requirements for Power Batteries of Electric Vehicles" and GB 18384-2025 "Safety Requirements for Electric Vehicles"—officially took effect in China. The new standards dramatically raise the safety threshold from the previous "5-minute warning before thermal runaway" to "no fire or explosion for at least 2 hours after thermal runaway," while adding bottom impact tests and post-fast-charging safety tests. Industry observers have called this the "strictest battery safety mandate in history," signaling China's entry into a "zero tolerance" era for battery safety.