Multi-Type Policies and New Energy Vehicle Innovation Output in China: A Central–Local Perspective

To promote the sustainable development of new energy vehicles (NEVs), governments at multiple levels are formulating an increasing number of policy mixes, which feature different policy instruments across levels of governance and may thereby generate interactions among them. Drawing on data from China’s NEV industry, this study classifies policies into strategic, supply-side, demand-side, and environmental-side types, and further distinguishes between central and local policies. It then examines how these multi-type policies are associated with NEV innovation output and their synergistic relationships. The results show that, when considered individually, multi-type policies at both the central and local levels are positively associated with NEV innovation output, while the demand-side phasing down of consumer subsidies exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship. When central and local policies are implemented simultaneously, the coordination of same-type supply- and demand-side policies is positively associated with innovation output, and supply-side incoordination is likewise positive, whereas demand-side incoordination is negative but statistically insignificant. In addition, the incoordination of environmental-side policies between central and local governments is positively associated with NEV innovation output. These findings suggest that multilevel governments should attend to both policy synergy and policy incoordination, and optimize the types and levels of policies in the NEV industry.