Chongqing - China’s automotive industry is entering a new phase of transformation, with companies shifting their focus toward intelligent driving, new energy technologies, supply chain innovation, and global expansion, industry leaders said at the 2026 Automotive New Quality Productive Forces Development Forum recently held in Chongqing.

The shift marks a move from growth driven by scale toward development powered by innovation. Pan Haiping, chairman of China Economic Information Service, said the industry is undergoing major restructuring as intelligent connectivity advances and automotive value chains continue to evolve.

The 2026 Automotive New Quality Productive Forces Development Forum was held in Chongqing from August 19 to 20. (Photo/Xinhua Financial)

Chongqing strengthens its automotive ecosystem

As one of China's major manufacturing centers, Chongqing has developed a strong automotive industrial base, particularly in intelligent connected new energy vehicles.

Zeng Rong, district mayor of Jiulongpo District People's Government, said the district has made intelligent connected new energy vehicles a leading industry and has gathered more than 100 vehicle and supporting companies.

The district's intelligent connected new energy vehicle industry has generated more than 700 billion yuan (about 104 billion U.S. dollars) in output value, Zeng said.

He said Jiulongpo has built an industrial ecosystem covering research and development, manufacturing, components, sales and after-sales services. The district has also promoted hydrogen energy applications and launched large-scale demonstrations of hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles.

"New quality productive forces are not only about what is new, but also about quality," said Lyu Qi, deputy general manager of China Certification & Inspection Group.

He said advances in intelligent driving and artificial intelligence-powered vehicles have created new challenges, including how to define the boundaries of autonomous driving capability, how to verify the safety of large models applied in vehicles, and how Chinese vehicles can gain trust from overseas regulators and consumers.

"Only through collaborative innovation and a strong quality infrastructure can Chinese automobiles move forward more steadily and reach farther markets," Lyu said.

Safety, intelligence and self-developed technologies

Automakers at the forum shared how they are applying new technologies in production and products.

He Gang, vice president of Chongqing Changan Automobile, said intelligent driving technologies are advancing rapidly, but user concerns remain focused on safety and trust.

He Gang, vice president of Chongqing Changan Automobile. (Photo/Xinhua Financial)

According to He, China's L2-level driver assistance penetration rate has reached 70.5%, while the penetration rate of navigation-assisted driving has reached 34.2%.

Changan has focused on three dimensions of vehicle safety: physical safety, psychological safety and emotional safety, He said. The company's "Tianshu Navigation" and "Tianshu Cockpit" systems will be installed in its upcoming Qiyuan Q06 model.

He also introduced Changan's "black-light laboratory," a 24-hour automated testing facility that conducts simulation tests. The system performs more than 3.3 million kilometers of simulated driving tests every day, according to He.

He Liyang, president of Seres Automobile, said the company is developing its AITO brand around five standards: high safety, high reliability, high performance, high quality and high value.

He Liyang, President of Seres Automobile. (Photo/Xinhua Financial)

He said the company aims to continuously improve products, supply chains and service systems while focusing on intelligent electric vehicles.

Leapmotor senior vice president Cao Li said the company's strategy is based on "full-domain self-research," referring to independent development across key vehicle systems.

According to Cao, 65% of the value of the company's core vehicle components is developed and manufactured in-house. The company has also established 18 component factories in Zhejiang Province.

Cao said self-development helps the company control technology, cost, quality and response speed.

AI reshapes the future vehicle

Beyond traditional automaking, technology companies are exploring how artificial intelligence will redefine vehicles.

Wu Yongqiao, president of Bosch Intelligent Driving China, said AI is changing automotive development methods.

Wu Yongqiao, president of Bosch Intelligent Driving China. (Photo/Xinhua Financial)

"AI architecture" will reshape future vehicles by integrating systems such as intelligent driving, smart cockpits, power management and chassis control into a more centralized computing system, said Wu.

Wu said Bosch is working with Chinese companies to explore AI-based vehicle architectures and believes future development will require new cooperation models between automakers, suppliers and technology companies.

Yang Mu, chief technology officer of AFARI Intelligent Driving, said AI is moving from digital applications into physical environments, with automobiles becoming one of the most important platforms for this transition.

He said the company is developing intelligent driving solutions based on "brain-body integration" and "cockpit-driving integration," aiming to create vehicles that can better understand environments and make decisions.

By the end of June, AFARI Intelligent Driving's solutions had been deployed in more than 19 vehicle models, covering more than 500,000 mass-produced vehicles, Yang said.