Mongolia's transportation department said that it is very urgent to build a waste power battery recycling and processing plant, but due to the limited scale of the country's economy and the serious aging of vehicles, financing for related projects is not easy...

According to Russian media citing information from Mongolian officials, the Mongolian Automobile Dealers Association (MADA) and the Asian Development Bank, over the past decade or so, Mongolia has importeda large number of second-hand hybrid vehicles from Japan. While reducing fuel consumption and improving travel conditions, it has also gradually exposed the problem of the lack of a powerbattery scrappingtreatment system. The industry believes that Mongolia's current experience also provides noteworthy cases for other developing countries that are rapidly introducing new energy vehicles.

Data shows that there are currently about 1.5 million vehicles in Mongolia, of which hybrid modelsaccount for 45%. The vast majority of them are second-hand Toyota Prius imported from Japan. Due to its durability, fuel-saving, and sufficient supply of spare parts, as well as Mongolia's vast territory and high fuel prices, the Prius has become a very common vehicle model from the capital Ulaanbaatar to the Gobi region. Many herders even use it as a grazing and transportation tool.

Baasanbayar Sambuu-Yondon, head of the Mongolian Automobile Dealers Association, said that the hybrid car is very suitable for long-distance travel environments like Mongolia. The vehicle can first rely on electric drive to drive about 100 to 150 kilometers, and then switch to the fuel engine to continue driving 800 to 1000 kilometers. This is also an important reason for its long-term popularity.

However, there are also new challenges hidden behind this prosperity. According to reports,about 80% of Mongolia's imported cars come from Japan, 95% of whichare used cars. Many Prius entered the Mongolian market through auction after the Japanese battery warranty period ended. As the vehicle itself has been in use for many years, coupled with the severe winter and complex road conditions in Mongolia, the aging rate of power batteries has further accelerated, and the demand for maintenance and replacement of battery modules has continued to increase.

At present, Mongolia has not yet established a complete power battery recycling and treatment system. The local area lacks formal recycling companies and a complete supervision mechanism for the flow of scrapped batteries. Some used high-voltage batteries are even randomly piled near residential areas, posing fire and safety risks. Although the private sector has formed an informal collection network for the purpose of recycling battery metals, truly qualified battery recycling and treatment facilities are still vacant.

According to reports, since 2016, the Mongolian government has cooperated with the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and others to study power battery recycling solutions. Mongolia's transportation department said that it is very urgent to build awaste power battery recycling and processing plant, but due to the limited scale of the country's economy and the serious aging of vehicles, financing for related projects is not easy.

At the same time, the Mongolian automobile market is still expanding rapidly. MADA data shows that in the past ten years, Mongolia has importedabout 50,000 to 70,000new and used cars every year. In the past two years, it has increased toabout 120,000in 2023 andabout 130,000in 2024. In order to control the growth of old vehicles, Mongolia has implemented new regulations in the capital Ulaanbaatar in 2025, banning the registration of vehicles over 10 years old.

 written in the end 

The development of the second-hand hybrid car market in Mongolia shows that entering new energy vehicles into a market is only the first step, and vehicle life cycle management is the real test. For China export companies, as more and more new energy and hybrid cars are exported overseas, they must not only pay attention to sales, but also consider power battery testing, maintenance, recycling and local service system construction in advance.

Source: Guangdong Good Car

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