China policy calls on automakers to increase use of recycled steel, plastics, and batteries

China’s economic and industrial authorities have released a new multi-department policy plan to expand the use of recycled materials across manufacturing sectors, with the automotive industry identified as a key application area. The policy outlines measures to strengthen the supply of recycled materials, improve application standards, and increase adoption across vehicle production and related supply chains.

According to the Recycled Materials Application Promotion Action Plan, regulators aim to increase the use of recycled materials in automobile manufacturing, alongside other industries such as electronics, batteries, textiles, and packaging. The plan emphasizes improving the reliability, quality, and scale of recycled-material supply to support broader industrial adoption.

For the automotive sector, the policy encourages manufacturers to apply more recycled materials in vehicle production where technical and regulatory requirements allow. This includes expanding the use of recycled steel, aluminum, plastics, and other secondary materials in vehicle bodies, structural components, interior parts, and non-critical systems. The document also calls for closer coordination between automakers, dismantling enterprises, recycling companies, and materials processors to form more integrated recycling and reuse chains.

The plan highlights the importance of improving recycling efficiency from end-of-life vehicles. Authorities aim to promote standardized vehicle dismantling, higher recovery rates of usable materials, and enhanced processing capabilities for recycled automotive metals and plastics. These measures are intended to support a stable supply of inputs for automakers while reducing dependence on primary raw materials.

Battery production is another priority area for the automotive industry. The policy calls for increasing the use of recycled materials in battery manufacturing and strengthening recycling systems for spent batteries. As electrified vehicles expand in China’s market, regulators view batteries as a growing source of recoverable materials that can be reintegrated into production cycles.

Beyond material-use targets, the action plan also outlines the gradual establishment of standards, certification systems, and traceability mechanisms for recycled materials. These frameworks are expected to help ensure consistency, safety, and quality when recycled inputs are used in vehicle manufacturing.

The policy’s longer-term objectives include a more comprehensive national waste recycling system and broader industrial acceptance of recycled materials as standard production inputs. For the automotive industry, this would support deeper integration of circular production practices across vehicle design, manufacturing, and end-of-life processing.

The policy reflects a coordinated regulatory effort to more systematically embed recycled materials into China’s automotive manufacturing ecosystem, with implementation expected to involve automakers, suppliers, and recycling enterprises across multiple stages of the vehicle lifecycle.