Chongqing - Chongqing is preparing to host the 19th Meeting of the Chongqing Mayor's International Economic Advisory Council (CMIA) on September 25–26. The gathering will bring together 30 companies, including 16 Fortune Global 500 firms and 14 industry leaders. Among the newcomers this year is Adient, the world’s largest manufacturer of automotive seats, which operates more than 200 manufacturing and assembly plants across 29 countries. 

Adient's story in Chongqing highlights the city’s growing prominence in the global automotive industry. It entered Chongqing in 2003, following its long-time partner Ford as the American automaker launched a joint venture with Changan Automobile. At that time, the company had no presence in southwest China. However, it quickly recognized Chongqing's automotive potential and Changan’s momentum, choosing to establish itself at the heart of what would soon become one of China’s most dynamic automotive hubs.

Adient Chongqing successfully forged a deep partnership with Changan Ford—the local joint venture established by Changan Automobile and Ford—and for many years, its fortunes in Chongqing were closely tied to the JV. Yet as China's new energy vehicle (NEV) industry began to take off, the company saw the need to diversify. It became one of the first seat makers to supply fast-rising EV brands such as NIO and XPeng. Over time, seats manufactured in Chongqing are found in almost every major Chinese EV, making the factories of Adient Chongqing a vital part of the country's NEV boom.

Chongqing has become Adient's operational and technical hub. (Photo/Chongqing Daily)

In 2021, Adient completed an equity split with its former joint venture partner and took full ownership of Adient Chongqing. This gave the Chongqing operation greater autonomy and led the global headquarters to designate it as the company’s regional headquarters in China.

While Shanghai remains Adient’s investment base, Chongqing has become its operational and technical hub, ranking its research center among Adient’s top three worldwide. Against this backdrop, Adient Chongqing has embarked on an unrelenting “innovation journey,” giving rise to a series of world-first breakthroughs, including the world’s first zero-gravity seat, the first mechanical massage seat, the first screw-rod long slide rail, self-learning seat functions, and emotion-sensing seats.

Over the past two decades, Adient Chongqing has also helped shape the local supply chain, attracting and nurturing dozens of suppliers and laying the foundation for a robust automotive ecosystem. Today, leading local NEV brands, including Avatr and Deepal, rely on its products, highlighting its role in localizing high-end automotive components.

As car seating evolves from basic comfort and safety to intelligent, multifunctional systems, Adient in Chongqing has emerged as a global innovation leader. Its breakthroughs—from massaging seats to adaptive learning technologies—redefine industry standards. The company is increasingly embedded in the design process, working with Chongqing’s automakers to enhance quality, technology, and safety while delivering more refined and customized upgrades.