2026 marks the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan and a year when the automotive industry’s elimination race enters a white-hot phase. This judgment was made at the China EV100 Forum media briefing by Shi Jianhua, vice chairman of the China EV100 Society.
Core Characteristics of the Elimination Race
Unlike the flourishing landscape of the incremental era, the 2026 elimination race presents several core features: market concentration is accelerating, with leading automakers continuously expanding their share; weaker brands face existential challenges, with some expected to exit the market; technology barriers have become the core threshold, and companies lacking core technologies will struggle to survive.
Six Major Industry Trends for the 15th Five-Year Plan
According to the 15th Five-Year Plan, China’s automotive industry will completely bid farewell to the extensive development phase of scale expansion and enter a new era of deep transformation and high-quality upgrading driven by new productive forces.
The six trends include: electrification entering a phase of comprehensive popularization; intelligence leaping from assisted driving to autonomous driving; comprehensive enhancement of supply chain autonomy; overseas markets becoming a key growth engine; green low-carbon principles贯穿 throughout the entire lifecycle; data security and cybersecurity becoming new priorities.
Corporate Response Strategies
In the face of deep waters, leading companies are adjusting their strategies. BYD continues to expand its lead through its full-industry-chain layout; Geely achieves full-price-range coverage through its multi-brand matrix; Chery uses overseas markets as its core growth engine; and new forces seek differentiated breakthroughs in intelligence and user experience.
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