Research On The Impact Of Government Subsidies On R&D Investment Of China’s New Energy Vehicle Industry

Under the background of increasingly exhausted petroleum resources and increasingly serious environmental pollution caused by automobile exhaust emissions,new energy vehicles are an important breakthrough in dealing with energy security,climate change and environmental protection because of the advantages of high cleanliness and low emissions.Therefore,the new energy vehicle industry has become a key emerging industry in the global development,but also one of the key industries to cultivate in China.The new energy vehicle industry is technology-intensive and capital-intensive,and technological innovation is the core driving force of its development.In other words,new energy vehicle enterprises need to carry out high intensity and continuous r&d investment in order to gain an advantage in the competition.Because the technology research and development activities of new energy vehicle enterprises are characterized by large investment,high risk and high spillover effect,the enthusiasm of enterprises to carry out research and development activities is easily affected.As an important source of external capital for new energy vehicle enterprises,government subsidies have been playing an important role in improving enterprise R&D investment and promoting the development of new energy vehicle industry.The Chinese government has announced that it will further reduce subsidies for the purchase of new energy vehicles in 2022,how to make the new energy vehicle market that prospers under the support of the government transform itself into a market that can grow independently is a difficult problem facing China now.It is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the relationship and effect between government R&D subsidy and enterprise R&D investment.Based on the background of energy exhaustion,environmental pollution and significant decline of financial subsidies,it is found that the development of China’s new energy vehicle industry is in a critical transition period through comprehensive literature analysis,theoretical analysis and empirical analysis.How to change from policy-driven to market-driven to promote the breakthrough of new energy vehicle core technology innovation is imminent.First of all,through literature review,it is found that there is a close relationship between government subsidies and enterprise R&D investment.Most studies are based on the macro level,and enterprises,as the main body of technological innovation,play a decisive role in promoting industrial development.Secondly,the paper theoretically analyzes the promotion and hindrance effect of government subsidies on r&d investment of enterprises,and further concludes that the promotion effect of government subsidies is greater than hindrance effect.Thirdly,the government subsidy policy and the development of China’s new energy vehicle industry are analyzed,the background of the subsidy policy is summarized,the stage of the subsidy policy is divided,the development dynamics of China’s new energy vehicle industry supported by the policy are described,and the development of China’s new energy vehicle industry chain is summarized.Finally,combined with the micro-data of 90 new energy vehicle enterprises from 2015 to 2020,this paper empirically tests the overall impact of government subsidies on the r&d input of new energy vehicle enterprises across the whole industrial chain and the specific impact on the r&d input of enterprises in different links of the industrial chain.It is found that government subsidies have a significant positive impact on r&d investment,but there is heterogeneity in the specific impact on enterprises in different links of the industrial chain.Research conclusions: First,we should attach importance to subsidies for core technologies of new energy vehicles.Driven by early policies,China’s new energy vehicle industry is booming.At present,China’s new energy vehicle industry is faced with the impact of the epidemic and the significant decline of subsidies,and the industrial development is transforming from policy-driven to market-driven.As a technology and capital intensive industry,new energy vehicles need continuous technological innovation and capital investment.The empirical results also show that the government subsidy has the greatest impact on enterprises in the mid-stream of the industrial chain with lithium battery as the core technology.At present,the government needs to adjust the subsidy policy to improve the quality and efficiency of R&D investment of core technology enterprises,and encourage enterprises to promote core technology innovation by increasing R&D investment,so as to realize the safety and independent control of the industry.Second,government subsidies can help stimulate new energy vehicle enterprises to increase investment in research and development.From the analysis of theory and current situation,it is not difficult to find that government subsidies will encourage new energy vehicle enterprises to expand r&d investment.The empirical results also show that government subsidies have a significant positive impact on enterprise R&D investment both in general and in different links of the industrial chain.Third,Government subsidies should consider the heterogeneity of enterprises in different links of the industrial chain.Although on the whole,government subsidies have a significant positive impact on enterprise R&D investment,there is obvious heterogeneity in different links of the industrial chain.In particular,government subsidies have a greater impact on r&d investment of mid-stream enterprises in the industry chain,such as lithium battery,electric motor,electronic control and semiconductor manufacturing,than that of downstream enterprises in the industry chain,such as vehicle manufacturing and sales.Accordingly,four policy suggestions are put forward: Formulate subsidy policies for different links of the new energy vehicle industry chain;Improve the information disclosure system for government subsidies;Improve the mechanism for monitoring and punishing government subsidies;The government will strengthen and guide technical cooperation between new energy vehicle enterprises.