More than 500 new cars were launched in China in the first half of this year. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers pointed out that there is currently serious product homogenization among enterprises, along with a series of irrational competition issues, calling on automotive companies to embrace a long-term development approach.
According to a report by The Paper, Fu Bingfeng, Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said on Wednesday at the 2026 China Auto Forum that the Chinese automotive industry had achieved tremendous historic accomplishments during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021 to 2025).
Data shows that last year, China's automotive manufacturing industry revenue exceeded 11 trillion yuan (about 6.64 trillion ringgit), accounting for about 10% of overall manufacturing, with automobile consumption likewise accounting for about 10% of total retail sales of consumer goods.
However, Fu Bingfeng pointed out that the current global industry structure is undergoing profound reconstruction, the development environment is becoming more complex and changeable, and the industry is facing both external shocks and internal tests. Market competition is intensifying and industrial problems are becoming pronounced.
He said that there are numerous automotive brands in China, with more than 130 brands on sale, and over 500 new models launched in the first half of this year. Most car companies are pursuing an “all-encompassing” product layout, with planned strategic goals seriously detached from what the market can bear, and the industry profit margin has dropped to 3.4%.
Therefore, Fu Bingfeng called for car companies to return to rationality, deeply cultivate differentiated tracks, find their own positioning, abandon short-term opportunism, and establish a long-term development vision.
In recent times, the Chinese automotive industry has been experiencing involutional competition. The CAAM pointed out last year that this had caused a decline in industry profitability, impacted the security of industrial and supply chains, and brought the industry into a vicious cycle. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said at the time that it would increase corrective efforts and carry out enforcement against unfair competition.