The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a press conference on the development of automobile industry in 2021 (with a record)

Ma Jian, Deputy Director of the Information Office of the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information TechnologyGood afternoon, friends from the media. Welcome to the press conference of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Today, we are very pleased to invite Mr. Wang Weiming, Director of Equipment Industry Division I of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, to introduce the development of automobile industry in 2021 and answer your questions. Also present at the conference were Mr. Guo Shougang, Deputy Director of Equipment Industry Division I of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Mr. Zhu Huarong, rotating president of China Automobile Industry Association, and Mr. Fu Bingfeng, executive vice president and secretary general of China Automobile Industry Association. I am the host of this press conference, Ma Jian, Information Office of the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

First, please ask Director Wang Weiming to introduce the general situation of the development of automobile industry in 2021.

Wang Weiming, Director of Equipment Industry Division I, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Wang Weiming:Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the press, good afternoon! Welcome to today’s press conference. Next, I will briefly introduce the development of the automobile industry.

As we all know, automobile is an important pillar industry of national economy, with long industrial chain, wide coverage and high degree of internationalization. At present, it is in a critical period of technological change and ecological remodeling, and the task of ensuring stable operation and promoting transformation and upgrading is extremely arduous and arduous. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attached great importance to the development of automobile industry. General Secretary of the Supreme Leader has repeatedly given important instructions, stressing that to become a manufacturing power, it is necessary to be an automobile power. In July 2021, Politburo meeting of the Chinese Communist Party proposed "to tap the domestic market potential and support the accelerated development of new energy vehicles". A series of decisions and arrangements made by the central government have pointed out the direction and provided guidance for promoting the development of China’s automobile industry, and we must conscientiously implement them.

The year 2021 is an extraordinary year in the development history of China’s automobile industry. Facing the complicated and severe situation such as the continuous evolution of the global epidemic and the tight supply of automobile chips, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, all parties concerned worked hard to overcome difficulties and jointly promoted the automobile industry to achieve new results and see a new atmosphere in the first year of the 14 th Five-Year Plan, and made solid progress in building a strong automobile country.

First, we will make every effort to ensure stable operation and promote the steady improvement of the automobile industry. Actively respond to the impact of the shortage of automobile chips and sporadic outbreaks of domestic epidemics on the industrial chain supply chain, set up an automobile semiconductor promotion and application working group and a special class to ensure the stable production of automobile enterprises, help enterprises stabilize the industrial chain supply chain through various measures such as building a supply-demand docking platform, and implement access management and convenient enterprise service measures such as "accepting defects, doing them first and making up later"; Dynamic tracking of key material support, the establishment of central-local collaborative mechanism to promote the solution of key parts breakpoints. For example, in view of the impact of the epidemic in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, Shaoxing, Zhejiang and other places on the production of vehicle manufacturers, we actively coordinated relevant departments, local governments and relevant enterprises, adopted point-to-point transportation and closed employee management, and solved the logistics transportation and resumption of production of more than 300 parts and components enterprises under the premise of ensuring the effect of epidemic prevention and control. In 2021, China’s automobile production and sales reached 26.082 million and 26.275 million, respectively, up by 3.4% and 3.8% year-on-year, ending the downward trend for three consecutive years, which contributed to the sustained recovery and development of China’s industrial economy and stable macroeconomic growth.

Second, vigorously promote transformation and upgrading, and new energy vehicles continue to lead the world. In-depth implementation of the "New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021-2035)", continue to carry out new energy vehicles to the countryside activities, start the pilot application of power exchange mode, optimize and adjust the "double points" policy, start the demonstration application of fuel cell vehicles, and promote the level of electrification in the public domain. Set up an intelligent networked vehicle promotion group, compile and publish the Management Specification for Intelligent Networked Vehicle Road Testing and Demonstration Application, carry out pilot projects for the coordinated development of smart city infrastructure and intelligent networked vehicles, accelerate the formulation of standards such as vehicle information security, software upgrade and data recording system, and accelerate the industrialization process. In 2021, the sales of new energy vehicles in China reached 3.521 million, a year-on-year increase of 1.6 times, ranking first in the world for seven consecutive years; The new car market for passenger cars equipped with combined driver assistance system accounts for 20%. At the same time, there are many bright spots in innovation, and the ability of sustainable development is further enhanced. The energy density of power battery monomer is close to 300 WHr/kg, and the energy density of system exceeds 200 WHr/kg. The intelligent networked vehicle-mounted basic computing platform realizes loading application, and the computing power of artificial intelligence chips reaches the international advanced level.

The third is to strengthen brand building, exchanges and cooperation, and achieve new results in international development. Organized the Automobile Association to carry out the "Seeing China Automobile" brand tour nationwide, increased the publicity of public opinion, and guided enterprises to strengthen the construction of quality brands, which achieved good social repercussions. Successfully held a series of activities such as the World Intelligent Networked Automobile Congress and the Exhibition of New Energy Automobile Industry Development Achievements, built an international and high-level exchange and cooperation platform, deeply participated in the United Nations Vehicle Regulations Coordination Forum and the World Organization for Standardization, and took the lead in formulating global technical regulations such as electric vehicle safety and power battery durability. In 2021, the cumulative sales of China brand passenger cars reached 9.543 million, up 23.1% year-on-year, and the market share reached 44.4%, up 6 percentage points year-on-year; The export of complete vehicles was 2.015 million, doubling year-on-year and reaching a record high.

The fourth is to improve the industry management system and further optimize the industrial development environment. Issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Access Management of Intelligent Networked Automobile Manufacturers and Products", put forward management requirements such as software upgrade, functional safety and expected functional safety, strengthened the supervision of automobile data safety and network safety, and took the "first step" of intelligent networked automobile access management. Effectively use the "toolbox" and take the initiative to play a "combination boxing" to form a multi-dimensional supervision and inspection system that organically combines flight inspection of enterprise access conditions, supervision and inspection of product production consistency, verification of letters and visits, and supervision of credit information "big data". Two batches of enterprises with special publicity were released, and the list of road motor vehicle manufacturers included in special publicity was released in a centralized manner, which comprehensively enhanced the systematicness and authority of the special publicity system and promoted the improvement of capacity utilization and industrial concentration. In conjunction with relevant departments, we will further strengthen the special rectification of "large tons and small standards" and illegal modification to form an effective deterrent and further standardize the order of industrial development.

We deeply understand that in 2021, China’s automobile industry will be able to overcome many unfavorable conditions to achieve steady progress and steady progress, mainly due to the overall situation and strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core, and a number of major problems that restrict industrial development will be solved at a high level; Thanks to the concerted efforts of all departments, the central and local governments have worked closely together to help enterprises solve problems, ensure the stability of the supply chain of the industrial chain, improve the support policy system and create a good development environment; Thanks to the initiative of industry enterprises, they are determined to innovate, increase investment in innovation, and accelerate transformation and upgrading. For example, in order to solve the problem of chip shortage, many provinces and cities have set up special work classes and invested special funds. Many top leaders of vehicle manufacturers personally come forward to coordinate and send a number of special teams to raise chips.

We should also see that the external environment for the development of China’s automobile industry has become more complicated, severe and unstable this year, and the difficulties and challenges it faces are also increasing, which requires us to further strengthen our confidence, innovate our thinking and promote development. In the next step, we will adhere to the guidance of Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought of the Supreme Leader in the New Era, fully implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the previous plenary sessions of the 19th National Congress and the Central Economic Work Conference, go all out to maintain the stable and healthy operation of the automobile industry, step up efforts to promote the development of new energy vehicles and intelligent networked vehicles, strive to improve the stability and competitiveness of the industrial chain supply chain, and greet the convening of the 20th Party victory with excellent results.

I’ll stop here. Thank you.

Ma Jian, Deputy Director of the Information Office of the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology:Thank you, Director Wang Weiming, for your introduction. Next, please ask Secretary-General Fu Bingfeng to release relevant data and information on the economic operation of the automobile industry in 2021.

Fu Bingfeng, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of China Automobile Industry Association

Fu Bingfeng:Good afternoon, friends of the news media! I’m Fu Bingfeng from China Automobile Industry Association. The statistical work on the economic operation of the automobile industry in 2021 has been basically completed. I will make a brief briefing on behalf of China Automobile Industry Association.

In 2021, it coincides with the historical intersection of "two hundred years", and based on the first year of the "14th Five-Year Plan", the automobile industry fully implements the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era. Under the guidance of the competent government departments such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and with the joint efforts of the whole industry, the automobile industry faced difficulties and took the initiative. The automobile production and sales showed a steady and increasing development trend throughout the year, showing strong development resilience. In particular, new energy vehicles have become the biggest bright spot, and have shifted from policy-driven to market-driven new development stage, showing a good development situation of double improvement in market scale and development quality, laying a solid foundation for the high-quality development of the automobile industry during the 14 th Five-Year Plan period.

First, automobile production and sales have increased steadily.

In 2021, the production and sales of automobiles were 26.082 million and 26.275 million respectively, up by 3.4% and 3.8% year-on-year, ending the three-year decline since 2018. Judging from the automobile sales in the whole year, due to the low base in the same period in the first quarter, the automobile market showed rapid growth year-on-year, and the growth rate slowed down in the second quarter. In the third quarter, it was most affected by the lack of chip supply, which showed a significant decline, and it recovered obviously in the fourth quarter, better than expected, ensuring a good development trend of steady growth throughout the year.

China’s total automobile production and sales has ranked first in the world for 13 consecutive years, and has made great progress in "electrification, networking and intelligence". China’s position as an automobile power has been further consolidated and it is moving towards an automobile power.

Second, the passenger car market will continue to maintain a scale of more than 20 million vehicles.

In 2021, the production and sales of passenger cars were 21.408 million and 21.482 million, respectively, up by 7.1% and 6.5% year-on-year, which was 3.7 and 2.7 percentage points higher than the industry growth rate. Driven by the strong domestic consumer market, China’s passenger car market has exceeded 20 million for seven consecutive years.

From the perspective of sub-models, the production and sales of cars were 9.908 million and 9.934 million respectively, up by 7.8% and 7.1% respectively. The production and sales of SUVs were 10.03 million and 10.101 million respectively, up by 6.7% and 6.8% respectively. The production and sales of MPV were 1.073 million and 1.055 million respectively, up by 6.1% and 0.1% respectively. The production and sales of cross-type passenger cars were 397,000 and 391,000 respectively, up by 0.6% and 0.8% respectively.

With the gradual improvement of residents’ income level, China’s automobile market shows an obvious trend of consumption upgrading. In 2021, the sales of high-end brand passenger cars reached 3.472 million, up 20.7% year-on-year, 14.2 percentage points higher than the growth rate of passenger cars, accounting for 16.2% of the total sales of passenger cars, accounting for 1.9 percentage points higher than the previous year.

Third, the production and sales of commercial vehicles have declined.

In 2021, the production and sales of commercial vehicles were 4.674 million and 4.793 million respectively, down 10.7% and 6.6% year-on-year. From the trend of commercial vehicles in the whole year, the production and sales showed a substantial increase in the first quarter due to the low base in the same period, and the sales volume began to decline year-on-year in the second quarter, and the downward trend was more obvious in the second half of the year.

From the perspective of sub-models, passenger cars have rebounded, and trucks have shown a certain decline. The production and sales of passenger cars in the whole year were 508,000 and 505,000 respectively, up by 12.2% and 12.6% respectively. The production and sales of trucks were 4.166 million and 4.288 million respectively, down by 12.8% and 8.5% respectively.

Four, the production and sales of new energy vehicles exceeded 3.5 million.

In 2021, the production and sales of new energy vehicles were 3.545 million and 3.521 million respectively, up 1.6 times year-on-year, and the market share reached 13.4%, 8 percentage points higher than the previous year. Among them, the production and sales of pure electric vehicles were 2.942 million and 2.916 million respectively, up 1.7 times and 1.6 times respectively. The production and sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were 601,000 and 603,000 respectively, up 1.3 times and 1.4 times year-on-year; The production and sales of fuel cell vehicles reached 2,000 units, showing a year-on-year increase.

Judging from the trend of new energy vehicles, the development situation of both production and sales has been maintained throughout the year, with monthly sales exceeding 200,000 vehicles in March, 300,000 vehicles in August, 400,000 vehicles in November and 530,000 vehicles in December, showing a sustained growth momentum.

V. The market share of China brand passenger cars has increased significantly.

In 2021, China brand passenger cars sold 9.543 million vehicles, up 23.1% year-on-year, accounting for 44.4% of the total passenger car sales, close to the best level in previous years, and its share increased by 6 percentage points over the previous year. Among them, China brand new energy passenger cars sold 2.476 million vehicles, up 1.7 times year-on-year, accounting for 74.3% of the total sales of new energy passenger cars.

Six, the market concentration of key enterprise groups remained stable.

In 2021, the sales volume of the top ten enterprise groups in automobile sales totaled 22.621 million vehicles, up 1.7% year-on-year, accounting for 86.1% of the total automobile sales, down 1.8 percentage points from the same period of last year.

New car-making enterprises have also played an important role in the process of industrial transformation and upgrading, and have shown some performance in market segments. In 2021, new car manufacturing enterprises sold a total of 947,000 cars, up 2.2 times year-on-year, with a market share of 3.6%, up 2.4 percentage points over the previous year.

Seven, automobile exports hit a record high.

According to the export statistics of vehicle manufacturers, in 2021, the number of automobile exports was 2.015 million, doubling year-on-year, accounting for 7.7% of the total automobile sales, up 3.7 percentage points from the previous year. China’s automobile exports exceeded 2 million vehicles for the first time, achieving a breakthrough that has been hovering around 1 million vehicles for many years.

From the perspective of sub-models, the number of passenger cars exported was 1.614 million, a year-on-year increase of 1.1 times; The number of commercial vehicles exported was 402,000, a year-on-year increase of 70.7%.

It is worth noting that the export performance of new energy vehicles is outstanding, with 310,000 new energy vehicles exported, a year-on-year increase of three times.

Eight, the main indicators of economic benefits of key enterprises maintained growth.

According to the statistics of China Automobile Industry Association, from January to November, 2021, the economy of key enterprises (groups) in the automobile industry was running smoothly, with an accumulated operating income of 3.6 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.7%; The total industrial output value was 3.1 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.1%; Accumulated profits and taxes totaled 435.03 billion yuan, up 0.4% year-on-year.

Generally speaking, in 2021, with the overall stable and sustained recovery of domestic macroeconomic operation, the development resilience of the automobile industry will continue to be maintained. As an important pillar industry of the national economy, the automobile industry is in a critical stage of transformation and upgrading. In recent years, the automobile industry under the change has maintained a stable development in general, which has played an important supporting role in the stable and good development of the macro economy. We should also see that although the current shortage of automobile chips has gradually eased, it is still tense, and it still needs the joint efforts of the whole industry to maintain the steady growth of production and sales. In the future, under the promotion of "electrification, networking and intelligence", the automobile industry will continue to actively embrace a new round of scientific and technological revolution, adhere to the drive of innovation, accelerate its integration into the new development pattern, become a leader in promoting the transformation and upgrading of the global automobile industry, and make due contributions to the automobile industry in order to achieve the second century goal.

Guo Shougang, Deputy Director of Equipment Industry Division I, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

Guo Shougang:Thank you for your question. New energy vehicles are an important direction for the green development and low-carbon transformation of global automobile industry, and also a strategic choice for the high-quality development of China’s automobile industry. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council took the lead in defining the national strategy for the development of new energy vehicles worldwide, and seized the opportunity of development. Relevant departments, local governments and industry enterprises worked together to promote the development of China’s new energy vehicle industry and achieved positive results, especially in 2021, showing a good momentum of "double improvement" in market scale and development quality. Combined with the statistics of the whole year, the industrial development can be summarized as "three fastnesses": First, the scale of production and sales has increased rapidly. In 2021, the cumulative sales volume was 3.521 million vehicles, and the market penetration rate reached 13.4%, up about 1.6 times year-on-year, ranking first in the world for seven consecutive years, creating the fastest growth rate since 2016, in which private consumption accounted for nearly 80%, and the capacity for sustainable development was further improved. Second, the quality brand has improved rapidly. The average driving range of pure electric passenger cars has increased from 253 kilometers in 2016 to more than 400 kilometers in 2021. The quality satisfaction of consumers is the same as that of fuel vehicles. The sales of China brand new energy passenger cars account for 74.3% of the total sales of new energy passenger cars, and more and more vehicles with monthly sales exceeding 10,000 yuan. Third, the export of products grew rapidly. In the whole year, 310,000 new energy vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of more than three times, exceeding the historical cumulative export sum. At the same time, the supporting environment for industrial development has been further optimized. By the end of 2021,A total of 75,000 charging stations, 2.617 million charging piles and 1,298 power stations have been built, and more than 10,000 power battery recycling service outlets have been set up in 31 provinces and cities across the country.

Generally speaking, China’s new energy vehicles have entered a new stage of accelerated development, and their leading role in the electrification transformation of the global automobile industry has been further enhanced. However, we should also see that industrial development is also facing new situations and new problems such as "double carbon" target requirements, increasing international competition pressure, and security risks of industrial chain supply chain. In the next step, together with relevant departments, in accordance with the unified arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, we will thoroughly implement the Development Plan for New Energy Vehicle Industry (2021-2035), formulate a series of policies and measures to support the accelerated development of new energy vehicles, and fully push the industrial development to a new level. The first is to strengthen overall coordination. Give full play to the mechanism of the inter-ministerial joint meeting on energy conservation and new energy vehicle industry development, formulate policies and measures to support the accelerated development of new energy vehicles, and maintain the effective convergence of policy systems. Make overall plans to improve the ability to support key resources, strengthen communication with Qinghai, Sichuan, Jiangxi and other provinces and cities, and coordinate and promote the development of domestic lithium resources. According to the requirements of the "1+N" policy system of double-carbon target, organize the preparation of green and low-carbon development roadmap for automobile industry to provide guidance for industry enterprises. The second is to speed up the popularization and application. Accelerate the construction of charging and replacing infrastructure, continue to carry out the pilot work of new energy vehicles going to the countryside and replacing electricity, start the pilot project of fully electrifying vehicles in public areas, and promote the increase of the proportion of new energy vehicles in urban public transport, rental, logistics and distribution. We also hope that all localities will introduce more preferential policies for parking, charging and other aspects of use, optimize the measures to restrict the purchase of automobiles, and create a good environment for promoting the consumption of new energy vehicles.The third is to promote cross-border integration. Promote the integration of electrification and intelligent networking technology, accelerate the application of new technologies such as 5G information communication and vehicle-road coordination, and develop more functions suitable for consumers such as leisure and entertainment, life service and automatic driving. The fourth is to improve product quality. Put forward higher standards and stricter requirements in terms of quality, safety and low-temperature application, and continue to carry out special actions for the upward development of automobile brands in China, so as to guide enterprises to improve product quality, improve service level and establish brand image, so as to make consumers prefer to buy and use with confidence.

Wang Weiming:Thank you for your question. Since 2020, automobile industry enterprises have been plagued by the problem of chip shortage, and in 2021, they felt the "core" pain, so many automobile enterprises at home and abroad reduced production or stopped production for a short time. There are many factors influencing this round of automobile chip shortage, including the cyclical influence of the chip industry itself, and some sudden factors such as the COVID-19 epidemic and the fire in the production plant.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has been paying close attention to and actively responding to the shortage of automobile chips, taking various measures to ensure the supply of automobile chips and maintain the stable operation of the automobile industry. Recently, it has focused on the following tasks. The first is to improve the working mechanism. Set up a working group on the promotion and application of automotive semiconductors, establish a weekly report system on the production of key vehicle enterprises, and hold coordination meetings attended by local industrial and information authorities, industry associations and key enterprises for many times to strengthen the docking of supply and demand and work coordination, and promote the improvement of the supply capacity of automotive chips. At the same time, the implementation of the automobile "Announcement" management service measures will simplify the procedures and speed up the audit progress on the premise of ensuring safety, so as to facilitate the vehicle enterprises to quickly realize the loading application of the chip replacement scheme in short supply. The second is to strengthen the docking between supply and demand. Give full play to the communication and coordination role of industry organizations, guide the establishment of China Automotive Chip Industry Innovation Alliance, organize the compilation of the Handbook of Automotive Semiconductor Supply and Demand Docking, and provide 568 chip product technical parameter information and 1,000 vehicle and parts enterprise demand information for industry enterprises’ reference; Support industry organizations to build a docking platform for supply and demand information, upstream and downstream communication and coordination channels, strengthen direct communication between automobile and component enterprises and chip manufacturers, and timely promote coordination and solve various problems and difficulties. The third is to strengthen policy guarantee. Coordinate relevant departments and local governments to provide financial funds, tax incentives, insurance compensation and other support policies, cooperate with the General Administration of Market Supervision to investigate and deal with unfair competition behaviors such as hoarding and price gouging in the automotive chip field, and accelerate the construction of automotive chip standard system and the development of technical standards in sub-sectors.Build a public service platform for automobile chip testing and application promotion, and strive to create a good development environment. With the joint efforts of all parties, the work of ensuring the supply of automobile chips has achieved phased results, which has provided strong support for the steady growth of China’s automobile production and sales in 2021.

At present, the world’s major chip companies have gradually increased the production and supply of automotive chips, and new production capacity will be released in the second half of this year. It is expected that the shortage of automotive chips will gradually ease in 2022. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will continue to implement the decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, adhere to systematic thinking, make overall plans for development and safety, continue to strengthen the docking of upstream and downstream supply and demand and the cooperation of all parties, intensify the work of ensuring the supply of automobile chips, at the same time guide enterprises to optimize the supply chain layout, make overall plans to promote the popularization and application of automobile chips and jointly tackle key problems, guide social capital to actively invest in manufacturing, packaging and testing, improve the supply capacity of automobile chips, and ensure the stable and healthy development of the automobile industry.

Fu Bingfeng:Thank you for your question. In the past decade, China’s automobile export has been hovering around 1 million vehicles, and it exceeded 2 million vehicles for the first time in 2021, achieving a historic leap. China’s automobile industry is entering a new stage of globalization, with four bright spots.

First, the exports of China brand automobile enterprises all showed rapid growth. Among the top ten export enterprises, compared with the same period of last year, nine China brand automobile enterprises all showed rapid growth, among which four enterprises’ export growth rate exceeded 100%.

Second, passenger cars and commercial vehicles are growing at a high speed. Passenger cars increased by 1.1 times, and SUVs dominated, indicating that China brand has more competitive advantages in SUV models. Commercial vehicles increased by 70.7%, and both passenger cars and trucks showed rapid growth.

Third, the export of new energy vehicles has exploded. In 2021, 310,000 new energy vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of three times. The European market has become a major incremental market, mainly concentrated in developed countries such as Belgium, Britain, Germany, France and Norway, which reflects the international competitive advantage of China’s new energy vehicles.

Fourth, the direct investment model has played an important role. China automobile companies such as SAIC, Great Wall Motor and Geely Automobile set up factories overseas and began to play a better role. These directly invested factories have supported the China brand to take root overseas and laid a solid foundation for future growth.

The world economy continues to recover, and global automobile consumption is also recovering; China’s brand transformation and upgrading have formed advantages, and its supply chain is relatively complete, which can provide competitive products for overseas consumers in time; Countries represented by Europe and America have stepped up the promotion of new energy vehicles, and new energy vehicles have become a new kinetic energy for China’s export growth. These factors jointly promote the sustained growth of overseas development of China brand automobiles, and it is estimated that the growth rate of China’s automobile export will be around 20% in 2022.

At present, China’s automobile exports will usher in a period of rapid growth. China Automobile Association will cooperate with China brand automobile enterprises to actively carry out work in such aspects as legal certification, customs duties, overseas finance, logistics and transportation, intellectual property protection and brand cultivation, pay close attention to the main problems encountered by enterprises in export, and put forward suggestions and measures to solve common problems. At the same time, China Automobile Association will also give full play to the role of industry exchange platforms and international exchange platforms such as OICA, APEC Automobile Dialogue, and China-China Equipment Working Group, so as to help brand cars develop overseas.

Wang Weiming:Thank you for your question. With the rapid growth of the number of new energy vehicles in China, the number of retired power batteries is also increasing year by year. It is of great significance to do a good job in recycling power batteries for protecting the ecological environment, improving the efficiency of resource utilization and ensuring the healthy and sustainable development of the new energy vehicle industry. In recent years, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with relevant departments, issued and implemented a series of policies, such as the Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Utilization of Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles, and issued supporting measures, such as the Measures for the Management of Step Utilization of Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles, to strengthen the traceability management of power batteries throughout their life cycle. We have carried out pilot recycling of power batteries in 17 regions including Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei to deepen cross-regional cooperation and industrial chain coordination. The Catalogue of Advanced and Applicable Technology and Equipment for Comprehensive Utilization of National Industrial Resources (2021 Edition) was issued, and advanced technology and equipment such as flexible disassembly of retired batteries were promoted and applied, and a number of national, industry and group standards were formulated and issued. By the end of December, 2021, 173 related enterprises had set up 10,127 recycling service outlets in 31 provinces and cities across the country, and 45 echelon and recycling backbone enterprises have actively played a leading role in demonstration, and the power battery recycling system has been initially established.

In the next step, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will conscientiously implement the Development Plan of New Energy Vehicle Industry (2021-2035) in accordance with the decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and work with relevant departments to promote the following work: First, accelerate the study and formulation of the Management Measures for the Recycling of Power Batteries of New Energy Vehicles, further clarify the specific responsibilities of state and local departments, refine the regulatory requirements for all aspects of power battery recycling, and increase the regulatory binding force. The second is to study and establish a linkage mechanism for the management and control of power battery recycling, strengthen online and offline collaborative traceability supervision and management, compact the responsibilities of relevant subjects, and improve supervision efficiency. The third is to speed up the introduction of a number of national and industry standards for the recycling of power batteries, and do a good job in publicizing and implementing the standards. We will intensify efforts to tackle key problems, popularize and apply a number of key technologies, such as efficient recycling, and improve the technical level of the industry. The fourth is to carry out pilot acceptance of power battery recycling, and select and promote a number of typical models and enterprise case experiences. We will continue to implement the standardized management of the comprehensive utilization of waste power batteries, and set up a number of benchmark enterprises for echelon and recycling.