The 2026 National Two Sessions came to a successful conclusion, and the construction of a strong country began again in the face of new goals. The government work report sets my country's expected economic growth target for this year at 4.5% to 5%, and emphasizes "striving to strive for better results in practical work." This interval expression sends a different signal from previous years.

Different from the previous fixed goal of "around 5%", the interval expression itself conveys a pragmatic attitude: you don't have to be obsessed with whether the speed is fast or not, but also care about whether the quality of development is high. This more flexible growth target has also charted a new direction for the automobile industry-from high-growth to high-quality development.

From January to February this year, my country's automobile production and sales were 4.122 million and 4.152 million respectively, down 9.5% and 8.8% year-on-year. In 2025, my country's automobile industry will show a complex situation of coexisting scale growth and declining efficiency. The industry-wide profit margin will drop to 4.1%, the lowest value in 10 years. At the same time, trade protectionism is on the rise and geopolitical games are intensifying, forcing China's automobile industry to be more cautious in its "going out to sea." Insufficient consumption momentum,"convoluted" competition erodes the healthy body of the industry, and the complex and changeable external environment... It can be said that after years of rapid growth, China's automobile industry is ushering in an unprecedented "stress test."

In my opinion, the economic growth target of 4.5% to 5% is just a reminder to the automobile industry: to shed the blind worship of scale, forge more resilient industrial "bones" under pressure, and focus on high-quality development.

High-quality development means that the automobile industry must maintain a development trend of seeking progress while maintaining stability. To "stabilize", we must not only stabilize the fundamentals of development, but also stabilize the leading edge of intelligent connected new energy vehicles. To "advance", we must strive for progress in increment, technology, and industrial boundaries. Specifically, three things need to be done well: tap new volumes, break through core technologies, and expand new industrial tracks.

When exploring new additions, we must learn to "look backwards" and "look outwards". "Looking back" is looking at the automobile aftermarket. There is still room for improvement in traditional aftermarket services such as maintenance, financial insurance, and used cars, while new consumption scenarios such as car modification, RV camping, car racing, and car rental are becoming new growth poles;"Looking outward" means looking overseas markets. Despite the complex and changeable external environment, the pace of globalization of China's automobile industry has not stopped. In the first two months of this year, my country's automobile exports still achieved a year-on-year growth of 48.4%, reaching 1.352 million units. More importantly, we shift from simple product exports to technology export, standard export, and production capacity cooperation-this is the true sense of "going global".

In terms of deep cultivation of technology, the trend of electrification and intelligence of automobiles is irreversible. Breakthroughs in core technologies such as solid-state batteries and high-end assisted driving are becoming the key winners and losers in the next stage of global automobile industry competition. Only by settling down and tackling tough problems can we transform the leading advantage accumulated in the previous round of competition into sustained momentum in the next round of competition.

As important as core technological breakthroughs are original innovation and basic research. This year's government work report clearly pointed out that "strengthen original innovation and research on key core technologies." At present, some key links such as core basic components, operating systems, and automotive chips in China's automobile industry still have "stuck necks" that need to be systematically cracked. Only by strengthening the research and development of underlying technologies can we truly achieve high-level scientific and technological self-reliance.

In addition, the government work report proposed for the first time to "create a new form of smart economy", which opened up new imagination for the automobile industry. Empowered by AI, related companies are relying on smart vehicle technology, production and supply chains and application practices to expand their boundaries into emerging and future industries such as low-altitude economy and specific intelligence. Expanding capacity into these new scenarios is not only to find new growth points, but also to participate in building the underlying ecosystem of the future smart economy.

High-quality development also means being prepared to "fight a protracted war" from a long-term perspective. As Li Shufu, deputy to the National People's Congress and chairman of Geely Holding Group, said at this year's National Two Sessions, automobile companies must follow a "connotative" development path. Connotative development must not only abandon the price war, but also fight the technology war, quality war, service war, and brand war-let the industry return to a healthy and orderly development ecosystem, and let extensive development transform into refined growth.

"Strive to strive for better results in practical work"-the second half of my country's economic growth target this year is not only a confidence in China's economy, but also a spur to the automobile industry. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the breakthroughs of China's automobile industry in the fields of scale, technology, brand and other fields have proved that we have the ability and confidence to follow the road of becoming a powerful automobile country. Next, only by adhering to long-term doctrine, deeply cultivating technological innovation, and pursuing a stable and connotative development path can we win the initiative in global competition and inject stronger momentum into the high-quality development of China's economy.

Source: China Automobile News

[Disclaimer] The content of this website (including pictures and texts) originates from the Internet, and the copyright belongs to the original author. Respect the rights and interests of originality, and select content is only used for information sharing. If copyright disputes are involved, please contact us to handle the deletion in a timely manner.