Chinese Official Calls for Accelerated Progress on New Energy Vehicles by State-Owned Automakers

A senior Chinese official has expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of progress among state-owned automakers in the country’s new energy vehicle (NEV) sector, hinting at forthcoming policies to address the issue.

Zhang Yuzhuo, chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), emphasized the need to incentivize bold innovation and overcome institutional barriers, particularly in the NEV sector. He made these comments during a group interview with the media, highlighting concerns that state-owned automakers are lagging behind in NEV development.

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Zhang stated, “We will adjust our policies to give a separate assessment to the three centrally-administered automakers for their NEV business,” as reported by the Economic Daily. He noted that while car companies initially invested heavily in the NEV sector, the dominance of traditional fuel vehicles and current profit considerations have hindered their progress.

To address this challenge, Zhang announced plans to introduce policies aimed at removing barriers and promoting technological advancement, market share expansion, and future development in the NEV sector.

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Despite rapid growth in China’s NEV industry, private and foreign companies such as BYD and Tesla continue to lead the market. According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), BYD sold 2,706,075 NEVs in China in 2023, claiming a 35% market share and ranking first. Tesla followed closely with 603,664 units sold and a 7.8% market share.

While Zhang did not explicitly name the three automakers in the interview, FAW Group, Dongfeng Group, and Changan Group are the centrally-administered automakers directly regulated by SASAC. Among these, only Changan ranked sixth in the CPCA’s 2023 retail sales rankings for NEVs, holding a 5% market share. FAW and Dongfeng did not make it into the top 10 ranking.