The automotive industry is facing some new risks and challenges. How to enhance the core competitiveness of the industry?

As of 2021, China's new energy vehicle production and sales have ranked first in the world for seven consecutive years, making it the world's largest new energy vehicle country. China's new energy vehicle market penetration rate is entering a high-growth fast lane. Since 2021, new energy vehicles have fully entered the market-driven stage, with an annual market penetration rate of 13.4%. The "golden fifteen years" of the new energy vehicle market is coming. According to current policy goals and the space of the automobile consumer market, it is estimated that by 2035, China's new energy vehicle sales will have 6 to 8 times the growth space.

Before 2021, our new energy vehicle industry was mainly driven by policies. Since last year, it has been driven by both market and policies. Compared with the early stage of the 13th Five-Year Plan, the proportion of private consumption of new energy vehicles has increased from 47% to 78%, and the proportion of private consumption in cities without purchase restrictions has increased from 40% to 70%, which reflects that the market recognition of new energy vehicles has increased significantly, and the endogenous driving force of industrial development has continued to emerge.

Each energy revolution has promoted the industrial revolution and created a new international order. In the first energy revolution, the power device was the steam engine, the energy source was coal, and the means of transportation was the train. The United Kingdom surpassed the Netherlands; in the second energy revolution, the power device was the internal combustion engine, the energy source was oil and natural gas, the energy carrier was gasoline and diesel, and the means of transportation was the car. The United States surpassed the United Kingdom; we are currently in the third energy revolution, the power device is the battery, the energy source is shifting from fossil energy to renewable energy, the energy carrier is electricity and hydrogen, and the means of transportation is new energy vehicles. China is expected to show its new technological advantages in this process.

As an important pillar of my country's national economy, the automobile industry has successfully overcome the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and other adverse factors in the past year. The annual production and sales volume has recovered to more than 26 million vehicles, ending the three-year decline. It has ranked first in the world for 13 consecutive years, and its position as a major automobile country has been further consolidated. Exports exceeded two million vehicles for the first time, doubling year-on-year and setting a record high. The steady growth of the automobile industry has provided strong support for the revitalization of the industrial economy. In particular, my country's new energy vehicle development has achieved new breakthroughs, becoming a new highlight of the high-quality development of the automobile industry.

The development of the automotive industry still faces some new risks and challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical and regional conflicts have had a significant impact on the global automotive industry chain and supply chain. The shortage of automotive chips has not been effectively resolved. The prices of some key raw materials have risen rapidly. There are problems such as blind investment and disorderly development of new energy vehicles to varying degrees. Some policies to support promotion and application still need to be improved, etc.

Adhere to technological innovation and strive to enhance the core competitiveness of the industry. Strengthen the research and development of key system components and basic common technologies for new energy vehicles and smart cars, strengthen the innovation of vehicle integration technology, improve the comprehensive performance of new energy vehicles, and better meet consumer demand; consolidate the advantages of lithium-ion battery technology and industry, accelerate the development of new battery technologies such as sodium ion, cobalt-free, solid-state batteries, and fuel cells, promote the diversification of battery technology and materials, build and improve the power battery recycling system, and effectively alleviate the contradiction in the supply of rare metals and scarce metal resources; explore new models such as vehicle-battery separation, charging and battery replacement, and flexible battery configuration, create an innovative ecology for the integrated development of the industry, and use innovation as a driving force to continuously improve the level of industrial development.

Key regions are encouraged to formulate industrial development plans, develop new energy vehicles based on existing production capacity, ensure that project construction is standardized and orderly, and vehicle manufacturers should focus on key layouts, develop based on existing production bases, and no new production capacity will be added before the existing bases reach a reasonable scale. "New energy vehicles must follow this path (main body concentration, regional agglomeration), and cannot be too scattered, so we encourage a key enterprise to build a second site after reaching a certain scale in one place, and the national layout should be coordinated, not everywhere."

Adhere to the combination of transformation and new construction, make full use of existing urban components and equipment, build reusable, compatible and iterative urban intelligent infrastructure, further improve the investment and financing system, encourage social capital to participate in the construction and operation of intelligent infrastructure, actively promote the application and iterative updating of new materials, new processes and new technologies, and strive to continuously reduce the construction cost of intelligent infrastructure through technological innovation.