Chongqing- Investing in Chongqing · Chongqing Global (Online) Promotion Conference 2022 kicked off on the theme of "Co-building a Shared Future for ICV Industry" on July 11. The conference focused on Chongqing's developments in intelligent connected new energy vehicles (NEVs) and opens a window for investors into Chongqing by showcasing the city's unique strengths in the auto industry.

Yang Zixuan, deputy director of Chongqing Investment Promotion Bureau, delivered an opening speech at the conference. (iChongqing file photo)

The output expected to exceed one million by 2025

"Chongqing is known for the strong auto industry and the major auto industry base in China," said Yang Zixuan, deputy director of Chongqing Investment Promotion Bureau (CIPB). "In 2021, Chongqing produced and sold 152,000 NEVs, an increase of 2.5 times yearly, and promoted 63,700 NEVs."

Yang continued; specifically, Chang'an NEVs saw a sales volume of more than 100,000 and ranked among the Top10 across the country by accumulated sales volume. China's first passenger car product, Chang'an UNI-T, is equipped with the Level 3 autonomous driving feature and is produced by a self-owned brand. 

A NEV industrial cluster gradually took shape in Chongqing. As of 2021, Chongqing had built 2,080 charging stations and had a total of 50,000 charging piles. Public charging infrastructure in the city achieved full coverage. Fast charging network for expressways realized a coverage rate of 90%, taking the lead in western China.

Next, Chongqing will focus on automotive electronics, intelligent driving, power batteries, motors, and hydrogen fuel systems. It will formulate plans for automotive software, automotive chips, automotive big data platforms, and other key frontier aspects. It will develop Chengdu-Chongqing Hydrogen Corridor, Electricity Corridor, Intelligent Mobility Corridor, and different major application scenarios. 

"Chongqing's output of intelligent NEVs is expected to exceed one million by 2025 and to reach three million by 2030," said Wang Chunshui, deputy director of the Chongqing Economic and Information Technology Commission. "By then, a group of domestic leading enterprises and brands with global influence will come into being." 

To build a trillion-level automobile industry

At the conference, SERES, Continental AG, and other high-quality NVE producers shared the advantages of Chongqing's NVE industry and investment environment and showed excellent prospects for development opportunities in Chongqing.

Chen Yuqi, chief expert for technologies in SERES, joined the interview. (iChongqing file photo)

Wan Xinming from China Automotive Engineering Research Institute Co., Ltd. (CAERI) of GENERTEC said that Chongqing is a thriving fertile land for the automotive industry. Since moving to Chongqing in 1965, CAERI has achieved joint take-off with Chongqing. CAERI has also established a solid cooperative relationship with Chongqing's automotive industry cluster, reaching a total annual output of 3 million vehicles.

Furthermore, Peng Shiquan, a member of the Party Working Committee of Western (Chongqing) Science City, introduced that the Science City will focus on seven fields, including operating systems, autonomous driving solutions, application software, vehicle-road collaboration, core parts, intelligent NEV brands, and inspection and testing, with intelligent connected NEV industry at the core.

Li Jie, a member of the Party Work Committee and Deputy Director of the Management Committee of Chongqing Liangjiang New Area. (iChongqing file photo)

Liangjiang New Area, approved to be established in 2010, is the first state-level new area in Chinese inland. "In 2021, the GDP of Liangjiang New Area exceeded 400 billion yuan, making it rank fourth among the state-level new areas in China," said Li Jie, a member of the Party Work Committee and Deputy Director of the Management Committee of Chongqing Liangjiang New Area. "It will foster a trillion-level automobile industry ecosystem focusing on vehicles, automobile electronics, core parts of NEVs, and intelligent networking technology."