BEIJING: The intelligent connected new energy vehicle (NEV) industry is anticipated to contribute greatly to the upgrading of China’s automobile industry, along with breakthroughs in core technologies in this sector amid the artificial intelligence boom.
The Industry and Information Technology Ministry and eight other departments in early September jointly released a plan for the development of the intelligent connected NEV industry during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026 to 2030).
The plan proposes that, by 2030, China will further consolidate its advantages across the entire intelligent connected NEV industrial chain and join the ranks of the world’s auto powerhouses.
Intelligent connected NEVs are the main direction for transforming and upgrading the automobile industry, are typical examples of new quality productive forces, and are key components in building a modern industrial system in China, the plan notes.
This move is valued as a future-oriented strategic layout for strengthening the automobile industry which has undergone decades of progress in scale and core technologies and brands, with technological capabilities acting as the major driving power.
In 2025, China’s automobile production and sales respectively reached 34.53 million and 34.4 million units, up 10.4% and 9.4% year-on-year, respectively.
The industry has maintained over 30 million units for three consecutive years and ranked the first globally for 17 successive years.
Of the total, production and sales of NEVs respectively reached nearly 16.63 million and 16.49 million units, ranking the first in the world for 11 years straight.
The large-scale deployment of intelligent connected vehicle technology, notably, is reshaping the core competitiveness of China’s automotive industry.
In the first three quarters of 2025, 64% of new passenger vehicles in China were equipped with Level 2 (L2) combined driver-assistance functions.
In 2026, this rate climbed to 70%, and more than 30% of automobile models provide navigation-assisted driving functions.
What’s significant, L3 conditional autonomous driving has run beyond closed-road testing into commercial application.
It means industrialisation of the intelligent connected vehicle sector is accelerating on all fronts, including this shift from technical validation to commercial deployment. — Xinhua
