Abstract:Based on the theories of innovation ecosystem and population relationship, the paper takes 50 new energy vehicle enterprises listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen as a research sample from 2009 to 2016, empirical studies the impacts of R&D subsidies on the technological innovation output of the whole new energy vehicle industry and different niche enterprise populations. Empirical conclusions: Government R&D subsidy is significantly positively related to the technological innovation output of the industry as a whole; The positive correlations between R&D subsidy and high, medium and low niche enterprise populations are 1.447, 0.512 and 0.247 respectively. And thus proposed policy recommendations, such as strengthen R&D subsidies for the whole new energy vehicle industry, focus on the middle and the low niche enterprise population’s subsidies, cultivate the enterprises’ intellectual property awareness and accelerate the construction of new energy vehicles’ intellectual property, etc.