GB 38031-2025¶
A practical reference wiki for GB 38031-2025, China's mandatory safety standard for traction batteries in electric vehicles. Built for engineers preparing for testing, type-approval staff, and importers assessing compliance.
Effective date
GB 38031-2025 was released 2025-03-28 and takes effect 2026-07-01. New vehicle type approvals from that date forward must comply. Already-type-approved models must comply from 2027-08-01 (13 months later). See When it takes effect.
Start here¶
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:material-table-eye:{ .lg .middle } All tests at a glance
Every test, every parameter, one table. Sorted by domain.
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:material-new-box:{ .lg .middle } What's new in 2025
The 2020 → 2025 delta. Two new tests, many revisions, one big change to thermal propagation.
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:material-book-alphabet:{ .lg .middle } Glossary
Terms, symbols, abbreviations. One concept per page.
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:material-alert:{ .lg .middle } The 5-minute warning rule
The flagship change in 2025. A thermal-event warning must be issued within 5 minutes of thermal-runaway trigger.
Browse by domain¶
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7 tests. Overcharge, over-discharge, external short, heating, temperature cycling, compression, safety after fast-charge cycles 🆕
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5 tests. Vibration, mechanical shock, simulated collision, compression, bottom impact 🆕
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5 tests. Damp heat cycling, immersion, temperature shock, salt fog, high altitude.
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5 tests. Over-temperature, over-current, external short circuit, overcharge, over-discharge.
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2 tests. External fire, thermal propagation ⭐ — the headline of the 2025 revision.
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What "no fire, no explosion" means. Insulation thresholds. The 5-minute warning. Observation periods.
Before you test¶
Setting up a test campaign? Read Before you test first — covers test environment, sample preparation, SOC adjustment, pre-treatment cycles, and the insulation resistance procedure that runs before and after most tests.
Thermal propagation¶
The 2025 standard requires no fire, no explosion at the pack level after a single-cell thermal runaway, plus a ≥5-minute occupant warning before any hazard reaches the cabin. This is the single biggest change in the revision.
Open the Thermal Propagation deep dive →
Type approval and "same type" rules¶
Already-approved a battery pack and want to know what triggers a re-test? See Type Approval for the same-type criteria (clause 9) and the partial-change matrix (Table 7) made browsable.
Migrating from GB 38031-2020¶
If you have a 2020-compliant pack and need to figure out what's required to bring it under 2025: see Migrating from 2020.
How to cite¶
Every page in this wiki links to the relevant clause of GB 38031-2025. The PDF is the source of truth and lives at China BATTERY STANDARD.pdf in the project root. Engineering interpretation on these pages is non-normative and is tagged as such inside blockquotes.
Contributing and corrections¶
Spotted an error? File an issue or PR against the repo. Numerical accuracy is the top priority — flag any mismatch between this wiki and the PDF, no matter how small.