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Surrounding the theme of "Unleashing New Quality Productivity and Taking the Sustainable Development Path of Chinese Automobiles," six top automotive industry leaders engaged in an in-depth high-end dialogue among entrepreneurs.

On June 7th, at the 2024 China Automobile Chongqing Forum, focusing on the theme of "Unleashing New Quality Productivity and Taking the Sustainable Development Path of Chinese Automobiles," BYD Co., Ltd. Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu, Geely Holding Group Chairman Li Shufu, Seres Group Chairman (Founder) Zhang Xinghai, Chongqing Chang'an Automobile Co., Ltd. President and Deputy Party Secretary Wang Jun, Jianghuai Automobile Group Co., Ltd. Deputy General Manager Ma Cui Bing, and Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd. Deputy General Manager Liu Peng jointly launched an in-depth dialogue. We have captured the following key information.

BYD Co., Ltd. Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu:

The core of new quality productivity is innovation.

The most important aspect of technological innovation is talent.

In addition to talent, building a highly vertically integrated industrial system is also extremely important.

Geely Holding Group Chairman Li Shufu:

How to achieve the clean utilization of fossil energy and the large-scale utilization of clean energy is the key to determining the fate of electric vehicles.Using liquid green energy to replace batteries is the optimal choice for automotive technology.

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Healthy competition can achieve high-quality development.

Chairman (Founder) of Seres Group, Zhang Xinghai:

In the future, we must promote the high-quality development of the automotive industry with new quality productive forces.

Tesla's entry into China is definitely a good thing.

President and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Chongqing Chang'an Automobile Co., Ltd., Wang Jun:

The implementation of new quality productive forces should have innovative production elements and globally leading innovative technologies.

New quality productive forces must be transformed into industrial results that can be realized.

Deputy General Manager of Jianghuai Automobile Group Co., Ltd., Ma Cui Bing:

Technological innovation is the core of developing and strengthening new quality productive forces, green and low-carbon is the foundation for continuously consolidating new quality productive forces, and institutional innovation is an effective guarantee for activating new quality productive forces.Focus on developing a strategy that emphasizes both commercial and passenger vehicles, as well as the integration of oil and electric power.

Liu Peng, Deputy General Manager of Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd.:

The future is not determined by individual enterprises or individuals, but is jointly created by everyone.

Toyota has cultivated a large number of talents for the Chinese automotive industry through joint ventures and technology transfer.

Wang Chuanfu, BYD:

The core of the new quality of productive forces is innovation.

Under the guidance of the national strategy, Chinese electric vehicle brands have undergone earth-shaking changes in terms of scale, quality, industry chain, and cost.

Speaking of the new quality of productive forces, Wang Chuanfu believes that the core of the new quality of productive forces is innovation. The replacement of traditional fuel vehicles by new energy vehicles has become an inevitable trend. Therefore, how to leverage the advantages of technological innovation in the new productive forces is the core issue.

The most important aspect of technological innovation is talent. New energy vehicles involve core technologies such as batteries, motors, and electronic control, which require a large number of talents to support. These talents also need to be cultivated by themselves."At BYD, technology is king, and innovation is the foundation, with the core being the R&D personnel," said Wang Chuanfu. The company now has 100,000 engineers. BYD's advantage does not lie in the financial statements showing how much assets and profits there are, but in the 100,000 engineers' "dream team" that is not reflected in the financial statements. This is the foundation for BYD's future development and sustained growth.

In addition to talent, building a highly vertically integrated industrial system is also extremely important. When components such as batteries, motors, and electronic controls are highly vertically integrated, efficiency can be greatly improved, and costs can be saved. BYD took the lead in establishing a highly vertically integrated platform, breaking down many barriers between industries, allowing engineers to innovate flexibly in a highly vertically integrated environment. At that time, it might take others five years to develop a product, but BYD only needs two years, and the saved three years may help the company take off.

Wang Chuanfu also mentioned that entrepreneurs should actively embrace involution and stand out from the competition.

Geely Li Shufu: Energy security, air quality and carbon emission control, and industrial chain upgrading are the three strategic directions for the development of electric vehicles.

Li Shufu said that China's strategic direction for the development of electric vehicles has three points: energy security, air quality and carbon emission control, and industrial chain upgrading.

At present, China's energy structure is about 70% coal power, and various clean energies are about 30%. How to achieve the clean use of fossil energy and how to use clean energy on a large scale is the key to determining the fate of electric vehicles.

The characteristics of new energy vehicles are light weight, low cost, high efficiency, good safety and reliability, and convenience of use. The biggest challenge in car design is to find the optimal balance between safety, handling performance, weight energy consumption, and cost, and reducing the overall vehicle weight is the key to solving this balance problem. The weight of the electric vehicle battery poses a huge challenge to solving this problem. If liquid green energy is used to replace the battery, it not only achieves the purpose of reducing vehicle weight but also realizes the transformation of intelligent electrification, which is the best choice for automotive technology.

Regarding involution, Li Shufu said that healthy competition can achieve high-quality development. The degree of involution in China's automotive industry is the highest in the world, with price wars rising one after another. This phenomenon is both good and bad. If the marketization level is high, the laws are sound, the law enforcement is strict, and fair and transparent competition, this is a good thing; on the contrary, it is a bad thing.Calees Zhang Xinghai: Promote High-Quality Development of the Automotive Industry with New Quality Productive Forces in the Future

Zhang Xinghai put forward his three points of consideration for the development of new quality productive forces in the application of the automotive industry.

Firstly, in the current booming development of the automotive industry, we should pay tribute to users. China has a huge market, and in 2023, the production and sales of new energy vehicles both exceeded 9 million, and it is precisely with the support of the vast number of users that China's automotive industry has become the largest in the world today.

Secondly, in the future, we should promote the high-quality development of the automotive industry with new quality productive forces. At present, Chinese cars have formed core capabilities in many core technologies such as three-electric technology, artificial intelligence, new materials, and advanced manufacturing, all of which provide a strong driving force for the advanced manufacturing path of Chinese cars.

Thirdly, we should take users as the root and consolidate core capabilities. Calees has been researching and developing electric vehicles for eight years, and during these eight years, Calees has always adhered to three concepts: insisting on software-defined vehicles, insisting on wholeheartedly serving users, and insisting on long-termism.

Regarding the impact of Tesla's FSD full automatic system officially entering China on the development of China's intelligent connected new energy vehicles, Zhang Xinghai also expressed his views: "Five years ago, when Tesla was in production and manufacturing, someone asked me if Chinese new energy vehicles could survive if Tesla entered China? I said at the time that Tesla's entry into China must be a good thing, and it will certainly promote and accelerate the development of China's new energy vehicles. In fact, BYD has become the national leader in new energy vehicle sales today, and in my personal view, it is also a result of Tesla's promotion. In the future, Tesla's autonomous driving function will also promote and accelerate the further acceleration and iteration upgrade of China's automotive industry's autonomous driving."

Chang'an Automobile Wang Jun: The implementation of new quality productive forces should have innovative production factors and globally leading innovative technologies.Wang Jun stated that the implementation of new quality productive forces in the automotive industry should have several characteristics:

Firstly, it should have production factors that integrate innovation. The cultivation of new quality productive forces in the automotive industry requires not only traditional industries such as steel, machinery, and petrochemicals but also the integration of data elements such as 5G, AI large models, and cloud computing in research, production, supply, sales, and transportation. These will provide new momentum for the development of new quality productive forces.

Secondly, it must have globally leading innovative technologies. China is in a leading position in the field of the three-electric system, and technology is a key element in cultivating new quality productive forces. Only through the use and empowerment of advanced technology can new quality productive forces be formed, creating digital products for the future and continuously giving birth to new industries, new models, and new ecosystems.

Thirdly, new quality productive forces must be transformed into industrial results that can be realized. In addition to achieving a technical closed loop, the development of new quality productive forces also needs to achieve a commercial closed loop. It should be implemented in products and services that consumers can touch, perceive, and purchase. Only by transforming advanced productive forces into tangible industrial structures and truly meeting the diversified needs of users can new quality productive forces be developed and ultimately reflected.

JAC Group Ma Cuibing: Technological innovation is the core of developing and growing new quality productive forces

Ma Cuibing talked about his three views on how to build new quality productive forces in automobiles.

Firstly, technological innovation is the core of developing and growing new quality productive forces. Ma Cuibing believes that technological innovation and industrial upgrading are the two core elements of new quality productive forces. For the automotive industry, it is mainly reflected in the development of new energy vehicles and the digital transformation and upgrading of manufacturing. In the first five months of this year, JAC Group's entire R&D investment was 1.34 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 64%, accounting for more than 7% of sales. In addition, JAC is also continuously increasing the innovation of technology and products. In January of this year, the first product, Rui Feng RF8, was launched, and in April, the Hongmeng version was officially launched.Secondly, green and low-carbon practices are the foundation for continuously consolidating new quality productive forces. Ma Cui Bing said that the green and low-carbon development of the automotive industry is an important measure to implement the national dual-carbon goals. JAC Group actively implements the concept of green and low-carbon, taking green products, green factories, and green ecology as the main focus to promote the development of the automotive industry throughout its entire lifecycle and across the entire industry chain.

Thirdly, mechanism innovation is an effective guarantee for activating new quality productive forces. Ma Cui Bing stated that in the development of new quality productive forces, talent is key. He introduced that JAC Motors currently has a total of 25,000 people in its R&D team, with nearly 5,000 people engaged in research and design. This year, the company will select and recruit 1,500 people from colleges and universities to expand the talent pool.

Regarding how JAC Group will seize the opportunities of global development, Ma Cui Bing said that the company will focus on developing a strategy that emphasizes both commercial and passenger vehicles, as well as oil and electricity. On the other hand, JAC Group will adhere to a strategy of focused development and regional operations. Currently, the company's products have penetrated 130 countries and regions, and the future layout of globalization will be accelerated further. In addition, JAC will also do more work in the area of going global.

Toyota Motor Liu Peng: Toyota has cultivated a large number of talents for the Chinese automotive industry through joint ventures and technology transfer cooperation.

Liu Peng revealed in his speech that last year, the proportion of hybrid models of FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota accounted for 33%, effectively reducing fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. In the future, Toyota will also launch a variety of pure electric models and plug-in hybrid models that meet the needs of Chinese consumers.

He also mentioned Toyota's cooperation with Tencent in the field of software. Liu Peng said that the future is not determined by individual companies or individuals, but is jointly created by everyone, which is a reflection of Toyota's long-term commitment to localization.

Toyota believes that at this stage, a diversified technological path is needed, including BEV, HEV, PHEV, and RCEV, the four major technologies, to provide better options for customers. Toyota hopes to cooperate with the industry to strive for the development of intelligent and electric vehicles, and to continuously break through innovations in the automotive field. He mentioned that Toyota's development in China is also a microcosm of the rise of the Chinese automotive industry. The progress of China's automotive industry is obvious to all, and Toyota has cultivated a large number of talents for the Chinese automotive industry through joint ventures and technology transfer cooperation, improved the level of manufacturing processes, and promoted the development of energy-saving and environmental protection technologies.