According to the Zhitong Finance APP, in the first half of 2025, China's automobile production and sales will exceed 15 million units for the first time, both achieving double-digit growth year-on-year. The vitality of the automobile industry continues to be released, with the production and sales growth rate of new energy vehicles exceeding 40%, export scale continuously expanding, and international competitiveness significantly improving. At the same time, the &#34;two new&#34; policies continue to be implemented in an orderly manner, coupled with a richer supply of new products from enterprises, which will help drive sustained growth in automobile consumption.
On September 17, KPMG China successfully held the &#34;2025 KPMG China Automotive Industry Summit and the 8th Automotive Technology Top 50 List Release Conference&#34; in Shanghai. Government representatives, industry leaders, technical experts, and investors gathered to discuss the development paths and future opportunities of China's automotive industry under multiple transformations such as intelligence, electrification, and globalization. The highly anticipated Automotive Technology Top 50 list was released, and the industry’s cutting-edge practices were interpreted from multiple dimensions such as technological breakthroughs and global strategies, providing strategic references and insights for the industry.
Discussing Competitive Ecology and China's Advantages
Every change in the automotive industry is rewriting the rules of competition. A new round of technological restructuring and market transformation is accelerating. The Chinese automotive industry is not only at a crossroads but also under the spotlight of global innovation. At the summit, participants engaged in in-depth discussions on core topics such as the electrification and intelligent transformation of the Chinese automotive market, global strategic layout, and innovations in steer-by-wire chassis technology, jointly assessing industry trends, sharing innovative practices, and contributing to the high-quality development of China's automotive industry.
Yang Xubo, a member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Hongqiao International Central Business District Management Committee, attended the event and stated: &#34;We will actively serve and integrate into the world-class automotive industry cluster in the Yangtze River Delta, fully leveraging the strategic advantages of the Greater Hongqiao linking international and domestic markets and resources, focusing on promoting the cross-border efficient flow of innovative elements such as talent, technology, capital, and data. We aim to build an open new model of 'Yangtze River Delta manufacturing + Hongqiao services + global market'; we are willing to deepen cooperation with KPMG, using this event as an opportunity to accelerate the cultivation of a competitive automotive technology industry cluster, providing advanced industrial ecology and professional service guarantees for enterprises to innovate and develop in Hongqiao, and jointly support local automotive companies to go global, explore, and set sail.&#34;
Ke Xiaolin, a member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy District Mayor of the Minhang District People's Government of Shanghai, attended the event and stated: &#34;We always regard 'serving enterprises' as the top priority of regional development. In the Hongqiao hub area, relying on unique location advantages, outbound service platform advantages, and the high concentration of senior multinational management talent and professional services, we will fully leverage the guiding role of policies and adopt multiple measures to attract automotive complete vehicles, R&amp;D design, parts supply, new energy vehicles, intelligent connected vehicles, and complete vehicle sales enterprises to settle in; in the Qianwan area, supporting projects such as Impression City MEGA and Qianwan Park are accelerating construction to create a livable and business-friendly development environment. In the future, Minhang will continue to promote the optimization of the business environment with the highest standards and best levels, and through precise matching mechanisms of industrial chain resources, help more 'Technology 50' enterprises thrive here and move towards the global stage.&#34;
Yang Jie, Chief Partner of KPMG China East and West Regions, stated that the Chinese automotive industry is focusing on breakthroughs in &#34;AI + automotive&#34; technology to build core competitiveness. We must deeply respond to the national &#34;Artificial Intelligence +&#34; action requirements, truly integrating AI technology into core scenarios such as intelligent driving, smart cockpits, and vehicle energy consumption management. More importantly, we must avoid falling into the trap of technological &#34;homogenization,&#34; increase R&amp;D investment, actively collaborate with AI companies and research institutions to build cooperative platforms, and transform intelligent networking capabilities into differentiated advantages that cannot be taken away by others. KPMG China will continue to leverage its professional advantages and work together with all parties to contribute to the prosperous development of the automotive industry.
The strong rise of the Chinese automotive industry is closely linked to China's position as an industrial manufacturing center. Through continuous investment in innovation, Chinese automotive companies provide a rich and diverse range of products for global consumers. Jiang Liqin, Partner and Head of Client and Business Development at KPMG China, stated that KPMG China's earlier publication, the Automotive Technology 50 series titled &#34;Driving Together: Diversified Power Competing in the Automotive Market - Powertrain Trends Report,&#34; shows that the Chinese automotive market is currently in a phase of industry consolidation, with the export volume of new energy vehicles accounting for more than one-third of the global total. The rapid development of China's new energy vehicle industry has not only reshaped the domestic market landscape but also strongly led the trend of domestic brand exports, becoming a key momentum driving the global automotive industry towards electrification and intelligence.
This summit proposed the &#34;Top Ten Trends in the Automotive Industry,&#34; accurately capturing the core dynamics of industrial transformation. According to the analysis of the ten trends, Chinese automotive companies are transitioning from &#34;technology input providers&#34; to &#34;technology output providers,&#34; with international brands beginning to leverage China's advantages in new energy and intelligence to feed back into their global strategies, becoming a new paradigm of joint ventures. In the &#34;second half of intelligence,&#34; intelligent driving is shifting from a &#34;perception flow&#34; reliant on hardware sensors to a &#34;cognitive flow&#34; that relies more on AI algorithms and data, with natural interaction and cockpit experience driven by large models becoming new core competitiveness.
In the face of increasingly fierce &#34;involution&#34; competition, corporate strategies are shifting from price wars to value wars, with technology, brand, and ecological services becoming new competitive dimensions. Additionally, as intelligent driving enters a regulated operational phase, data and safety supervision are continuously strengthened, leading the industry into a new stage of standardized commercial operations with clear laws and responsibilities.
Value Innovation Drives Industry Upgrading
At the event, the eighth &#34;KPMG China Automotive Technology 50 List&#34; was officially announced. Since the launch of this selection in 2017, it has helped many outstanding companies stand out and has become one of the most authoritative and influential annual selections in the field of automotive technology in China. The selected companies not only represent the core lineup of Chinese automotive technology but also reflect China's leading strengths in intelligent electric supply chains, software-defined vehicles, and global layout.
Norbert, Partner and Head of the Automotive Sector at KPMG Asia Pacific, stated that the &#34;KPMG China Automotive Technology 50 List&#34; is also a record of innovation in the development of the Chinese automotive industry. Currently, the automotive industry is undergoing unprecedented technological innovation, from electrification to intelligence, from connectivity to shared mobility, with each technological leap reshaping travel experiences and lifestyles
From the revolution of power systems to breakthroughs in intelligent driving, from innovations in material science to optimizations in user experience, the entire automotive value chain is filled with opportunities and challenges brought about by transformation. As the global supply chain is restructured, China's automotive industry is transitioning from being the &#34;largest incremental market&#34; to becoming a &#34;source of technology.&#34;
This year's list covers various tracks including complete vehicles and components (complete vehicles, chassis, power systems, etc.), autonomous driving (solutions, controllers, etc.), cockpit and vehicle networking (human-machine interaction, in-car perception, etc.), and mobility and transportation (smart mobility, fleet management, etc.), focusing on companies with outstanding technological innovation, mature business models, and broad market prospects. Xu Kanling, Partner in Charge of the Automotive Industry at KPMG China, stated that these selected companies not only represent the technological practices that help the Chinese automotive industry break away from inefficient competition but also set a benchmark for high-quality development in the industry through initiatives such as building an open and collaborative innovation network, participating in the formulation of international technical standards, and promoting green upgrades across the entire industry chain.
From the consumer's perspective, those considering more intelligent factors will prioritize choosing new energy vehicles. The continuous growth of new energy vehicles and the shrinking share of fuel vehicles indicate that consumers are placing greater emphasis on intelligent experiences and personalized models, reflecting a clear structural change in the market and consumption. Kang Qiming, Partner in Charge of Transaction Strategy Consulting at KPMG China, noted that this year's selection of the top 50 automotive technologies includes many companies in smart mobility and autonomous driving, which is closely related to the current development of new energy powertrains. New energy vehicles inherently possess advantages in intelligence, such as a greater focus on control fields, and smart devices rely on electric power, making electric vehicles more suitable for electronic and intelligent development. Kang believes that regardless of the powertrain, future vehicles will develop towards a deep integration of electrification and intelligence.
The summit also provided insights into global and Chinese automotive consumer trends. A roundtable forum themed &#34;Global Strategy: How Chinese Automotive Enterprises Go Global&#34; and &#34;Chassis Line Control Technology Innovation Empowering Automotive Automation&#34; was held simultaneously. It can be seen that KPMG China's eight-year selection of the top 50 automotive technologies not only strengthens the industry's recognition of the innovative achievements of outstanding automotive technology companies but also gradually outlines the future innovation map and development path of the Chinese automotive industry. With the continuous deepening of the &#34;Artificial Intelligence +&#34; policy, the automotive industry is entering a new stage of high-quality development that emphasizes quality and efficiency. Looking ahead, through steadfast innovation, adherence to compliance, and forward-looking global layout, the Chinese automotive industry will occupy a more advantageous position in the increasingly fierce international competition, writing a new chapter in industrial transformation and global leadership

The 2025 KPMG China Automotive Industry Summit and the release conference for the 8th Automotive Technology 50 List was held on September 17 in Shanghai. The conference explored the development opportunities of the Chinese automotive industry under the transformations of intelligence, electrification, and globalization, and released the top 50 automotive technology list. Attendees discussed core topics such as electrification and intelligent transformation, and global strategic layout, aiming to promote the high-quality development of the Chinese automotive industry

Zhitong

From the perspective of past selections, the industry's competitive value has been elevated. The 8th KPMG China Automotive Technology 50 list has been announced