Chongqing —  The added value, output, and production value of Chongqing’s automobile industry surged 25%, 47%, and 29% respectively from last year this time, local authorities said on August 11.

What kind of driving force for the sustained growth of Chongqing’s automobile industry?

According to Chongqing Economic and Information Technology Commission, the combination of national advanced high-end growth, promoted investment appeal and new energy resources and the intelligent implementation of local automobile industry contributed to the booming market, driving the whole industry to upgrade and develop with high quality.

High-end development of self-owned brands

Chongqing is now leading China’s automobile industry, especially the high-end development of self-owned brands.

Automatic robots are assembling seats at Jinkang Liangjiang Smart Factory. (photo provided to iChongqing)

The automobile industry in Chongqing becomes high-end. UNI-series sedans from China Changan Automobile Group (CCAG) are popular in the market, and “POER” from Great Wall Motors (GWM) also registers a monthly sales volume of more than 10,000. Besides, Tank 300-series sedans’ demand outstrips supply is priced at more than 230,000, shattering the price ceiling of self-owned brands, an official from the Commission said.

Huawei SERES SF5, a middle and high-end product, is also in short supply. SF5 becomes one of the benchmark products in the domestic intelligent electric vehicle industry. Corsair, Nautilus, and Aviator series products from LINCOLN, produced in Chongqing, have been put on the market consecutively…

At present, the proportion of vehicles priced at more than 100,000 yuan in Chongqing has increased from 30% in 2017 to 42%. Chongqing is now holding a firm lead in China’s automobile industry, especially the high-end development of self-owned brands, and never rely on mid-and low-end products.

Polestar, a European luxury electric vehicle brand, has launched its NEV projects in Chongqing lately. The two released models are a compact-size car priced at 200,000 yuan to 400,000 yuan and a sports car priced at 1.45 million yuan. The project will once again significantly enhance the overall product level of Chongqing vehicles, insiders believe.

Noticeable development of NEV

New energy and intelligence have been incorporated into the rapid development of Chongqing’s automobile industry. Local, new energy vehicles surged noticeably. The output in the first half of 2021 reached the whole year volume in 2020, up more than two times year on year, and the growth rate was higher than the national average with 18 percentage points.

The internal momentum of this noticeable achievement flows from farsighted strategic thinking of the Chongqing municipality and sound measures taken by vehicle enterprises to layout new energy vehicles (NEV) and get in on the ground, an official from the Commission said.

It is reported that various kinds of NEV brands, including CCAG, SF MOTORS, and Polestar, have established a high, middle, and low product series. For example, Mustang Mach-E of Ford, SF5, and E-Star of Benni came into the market and strengthening supply chain projects launched, such as BYD battery and Bosch Hydrogen fueled engine.

Chongqing has also yielded rich fruits in developing hydrogen vehicles. Recently, the first local hydrogen fueling station has been built, and hydrogen fuel buses and logistics vehicles have been gradually put into operation. Besides, the first national hydrogen power quality supervision center is under construction.

(Shi Jiaqi, as an intern, also contribute to this article)