Political and Business Leaders Gathered at the 2025 International Forum (TEDA) on Chinese Automotive Industry Development for the Blueprint of the Automotive Industry in the 15th Five-Year Plan Period

From September 11 to 14, 2025, the 2025 International Forum (TEDA) on Chinese Automotive Industry Development was successfully held in TEDA. At the forum, with the theme of  “New Momentum,  New Chapters, Global Reach,” a series of high-level dialogues, policy interpretations, technology demonstrations, and cross-disciplinary seminars were held. Several important think tank research outcomes were released, providing strong support for fostering new productive forces in the automotive industry and promoting its sustainable development.

Mr. Lian stated that, riding on the momentum of the State Council’s policies and measures to further support the high-quality development of Tianjin Binhai New Area, Binhai is fully committed to serving the opening-up, cooperation, and optimization of the automotive industry. It is actively developing the industrial chain of NEVs and ICVs in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. Binhai is working to build an industrial system led by key enterprises, featuring coordinated development of vehicles powered by oil, electric, methanol, and hydrogen energy. It also upgrades the full industrial chain from R&D, manufacturing to sales with diversified car makers from China, Germany, and Japan. This has resulted in a more optimized industrial strategic system, stronger development momentum, and higher-level collaboration. Mr. Lian emphasized that Binhai is focusing on expanding foreign trade and exploring new markets. Leveraging the advantages of Tianjin Port, Pilot Free Trade Zone and Comprehensive Bonded Zone and utilizing the advantages of roll-on/roll-off direct shipping and China-Europe Railway Express, Binhai is helping companies explore markets in Belt and Road countries and emerging markets, continuously facilitating the global expansion of products, production capacity, and capital.

In light of the current industry development landscape, he put forward suggestions for the automotive industry during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

First, China will forge new quality productive forces in the automotive sector by using vehicles as a platform to advance fundamental research and pioneering innovation, thereby driving collaborative technological breakthroughs. Second, we will steadily promote the transition between traditional cars to NEVs in the automotive industry, by improving the quality of new cars and revitalizing cars produced to facilitate the low-carbon transformation of traditional fuel vehicles. Third, enhance international cooperation by proposing “Chinese solutions” in the fields like intelligent connected vehicles and carbon emission reduction, and promote mutual recognition of Chinese and international standards as equals.  

China has now entered the era of intelligent electric vehicles. The full integration of intelligence into electric vehicles will bring profound transformations to the automotive industry. China is embracing development opportunities presented by the reform of its electricity market. Moving forward, the rapid advancement of key technologies such as all-solid-state batteries and vehicle-grid integration will inject new momentum into the automotive industry.

At the forum, officials from various national ministries and commissions released new signals for the automotive industry policies of the “16th Five-Year Plan” period from multiple dimensions, including emission standards, technological breakthroughs, consumption promotion, and data elements, charting the course for high-quality industrial development.  

Technical standards are like a locomotive driving industrial progress. In 2025, the China VI emission standards will be revised as soon as possible to improve management requirements. At the same time, efforts will be accelerated to advance the formulation of China VII emission standards for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. The China VII emission standards will shift from managing single-vehicle emission limits to dual management of single-vehicle emission limits and corporate average emission intensity.  

The fundamental trend of China’s industrial economy remaining stable and improving in the long term will not change, the direction of green and low-carbon transformation in the automotive industry will not change, and the objective law of global industrial chain division and cooperation achieving quality improvement, cost reduction, and efficiency enhancement will not change. For the “16th Five-Year Plan” period, specific work will be carried out in areas such as strengthening planning guidance, intensifying technological breakthroughs, promoting automotive consumption, improving the management system, and deepening cooperation and openness, to fully drive the sustainable and high-quality development of China’s automotive industry.  

The Ministry of Commerce will vigorously boost consumption and expand domestic demand. First, it will ensure the implementation of policies for replacing old cars with new ones, continuously optimize platform functions, and ensure subsidy funds reach consumers promptly and conveniently. Second, it will deepen and solidify pilot reforms in automotive circulation and consumption, break down restrictive measures that hinder automotive consumption, and promote a shift from purchase management to use management. Third, it will streamline the automotive recycling chain and crack down on illegal dismantling and scrapping of motor vehicles and related violations.

Li Jianguo, Deputy Director General of the Department of Digital Technology and Infrastructure Construction, National Data Administration  

As a new type of production factor, data not only serves as a core support for the intelligent evolution of automobiles, but also acts as a key driver for reshaping the future industrial ecosystem and upgrading the value chain. The automotive industry, characterized by its vast data scale, wide range of application scenarios, and strong cross-industry integration, is a critical field for fully leveraging the value of data and unleashing its dividends. Data security is also the lifeline of the digital and intelligent development of the automotive industry.

Leaders from mainstream domestic and international automotive companies shared their forward-looking insights and practical explorations into industry transformation, collectively outlining a new vision for the innovative development of the future automotive industry.

The future automobile will be an embodied intelligent entity integrating a robust physique, an intelligent mind, and an empathetic soul. Through the continuous evolution of artificial intelligence, it will become a safe, considerate, and trustworthy intelligent terminal for humans. By building a technological system centered on vehicle perception, roadside coordination, and cloud scheduling, and deepening the integration of “vehicle-road-cloud-satellite,” a safer and more efficient new mobility ecosystem can be constructed.

New energy has opened the prelude to a new era of automobiles. Digital and intelligent new vehicles are destined to become the mainstream of the future, and the future automobile will be a self-evolving intelligent car robot. Automotive companies must transition from traditional manufacturing to “manufacturing + services,” expanding into emerging fields such as mobility services and data services to enhance industrial added value.

AI applications are no longer limited to core scenarios such as combined assisted driving and smart cockpits, but are penetrating all areas of vehicles, including chassis control, power management, body electronics, and even social services, enabling full-chain empowerment. This system-level AI is fundamentally expanding the functional dimensions of automobiles, reshaping the industrial ecosystem and the landscape of value distribution.

The global automotive industry is in a critical transition period characterized by the deep integration of electrification and intelligence. The automotive industry has long moved beyond the era of winning the competion with single strength, especially in the transformation toward electrification and intelligence. Collaboration across the industrial chain and the co-creation of ecosystems are key supports for companies to achieve brand renewal.

The automotive industry is currently accelerating innovative transformation and cross-border integration. This integration is accelerating management leaps, leading digital-intelligent transformation, driving industrial upgrading, and simultaneously defining technological luxury. Automakers must follow industry trends, accelerate the transition to intelligent and new energy vehicles, pursue high-quality development, and adhere to the two strategic paths of independent innovation and open cooperation to fully build first-class brands.

Over the next five years, the industry is expected to enter a phase of steady refinement. Here, “steady” does not mean slow but rather a return to the essence of car manufacturing, seeking a leap in systemic capabilities under a long-term vision. This requires us to more precisely understand user needs, more efficiently integrate technical resources, and more solidly build resilience across the entire system. By delving deeply into every sub-segment and technical detail, we aim to achieve a breakthrough from quantitative accumulation to qualitative improvement, thereby enhancing the global credibility of Chinese automobiles.

At present, competition in China's new energy vehicle industry has shifted from single-point technological breakthroughs to systemic capabilities. The key to breaking the deadlock lies in integrated innovation—redefining industry boundaries through cross-sector technological integration, fostering development vitality via ecosystem collaboration, and activating overall efficiency with systemic innovation.

Creating safer and more durable batteries requires not only focusing on hardware and software but also optimizing and upgrading core algorithms of the BMS. It is essential to carry out extensive international cooperation, continuously improve safety diagnostics, screening and estimation of state of charge and state of health, and jointly expand the battery service ecosystem and next-generation intelligent diagnostics based on massive data to lead the future of the industry.

By 2035, automobiles will evolve into platforms for mobility, not only enriching people’s lives and delivering enjoyable user experiences but also contributing to social and economic development. To achieve this vision, we have identified two action directions: green transformation and digital transformation.

Leading industry experts and representatives from research institutions offered strategic recommendations on issues such as global expansion of Chinese automakers and the coordination of technological pathways. They emphasized the need for China's automotive industry to balance development with security, innovation with integration, and to plan for long-term growth from a global perspective.  

The global expansion of China’s automotive industry is an inevitable trend. Chinese automakers must manage the pace of their overseas market entry to ensure a smooth and stable landing. Rather than solely pursuing speed, greater emphasis should be placed on integrating with local markets to avoid causing severe disruptions to domestic industries. At the same time, companies should actively fulfill their social responsibilities by striving to create local employment opportunities, contributing to tax revenues, and achieving mutually beneficial development with local economies and societies.  

Currently, the development of fuel and electric vehicle technologies is progressing unevenly. This is ultimately due to unresolved policy barriers in areas such as production capacity and market access. In particular, policies related to production capacity, market access, and manufacturing are still managed under separate categories, lacking an integrated and holistic approach.