Research on the Policy Evolution of China's New Energy Vehicles Industry

China has formulated a series of industrial policies dedicated to the sustainable development of new energy vehicles (NEVs). Researching China's NEVs industry policy system, particularly its staged evolution characteristics and internal logic, is essential for future optimization of NEVs supporting policy system. In this paper, we use the co-word analysis method and social network analysis method to investigate the policy evaluation of China's NEVs industry. In total, 154 documents issued by the Chinese central government from 1991 to 2019 are chosen to describe the policy characteristics in four dimensions: policy themes, objects, key process along industry chain, and related measures. We explore policy evolution according to high-frequency words clustering. Results analyzing the policy development history showed that Chinese NEVs industry policy system has incurred the following stages: starting, initial formation, rapid expansion, and now strategic deepening. During the policy evolution in China, policy themes have emphasized the role of technology in NEV development. The industry process involved in policies has covered NEVs production, after-sales service, infrastructure, and battery management. Based on this analysis, we put forward relevant suggestions for improving China's NEVs industry policy.