Definitive Voice: 2026 TEDA Auto Forum Releases Several Key Messages

From September 17 to 20, 2026, the 2026 22nd China Automotive Industry Development (TEDA) International Forum was held in Binhai New Area, Tianjin.

Since 2005 to present, the TEDA Auto Forum has successfully held 22 consecutive sessions. Known for its perfect organization, high authority, strong professionalism, precise topics, rich content, and strong guidance, it has become the most authoritative, highest specification, largest scale, and most widely influential high-end automotive forum in China's automotive industry. It is known as the "China Auto Davos".

This TEDA Auto Forum is co-organized by China Automotive Technology and Research Center, China Society of Automotive Engineers, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, and China Automotive News. Centering on the concept of "Content Empowers Intelligence, Brand Empowers Effectiveness", it launched "17+N" events, including 3 core high-end dialogues, 6 ecological special sessions, 8 thematic forums, and featured activities.

This forum, themed "Smart Green Foundation · Ecological Momentum · Co-creation and Win-Win", gathered representatives from national ministries, industry associations, car companies, research institutions, and overseas industry leaders. Focusing on topics such as the opening transformation of the automotive industry's "15th Five-Year Plan", technical breakthroughs, market upgrades, ecological co-construction, and global competition and cooperation, it released several major signals, clarifying the core pathways and implementation measures for the high-quality development of China's automotive industry in the coming years.

Final Verdict on Important Auto Policy Trends

This year marks the beginning of China's national "15th Five-Year" development plan. Prior to the forum opening, the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Intelligent Connected New Energy Vehicle Industry", compiled by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other nine departments, was officially released, becoming a guiding document for the development of the automotive industry in the next five years. Focusing on high-quality and standardized development, abandoning extensive scale expansion, and focusing on strengthening basic research, common technology research and development, and industrial order optimization, it provides systematic guidance for industrial technology routes, layout planning, and market regulation.

Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Wang Weiming

Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Wang Weiming stated at the opening ceremony that in the next five years, efforts will be focused on four aspects: technological innovation, market consumption, industry governance, and open cooperation. Focusing on industrialization in four major fields: automotive chips, all-solid-state batteries, operating systems, and autonomous driving large models.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will officially implement a special action to improve automotive standards, synchronously optimize the industry management system, and fill gaps in industrial supervision. At the same time, lead industrial upgrade with standards, promote the construction of a self-controllable and adaptable automotive intelligent manufacturing standard system, and help the industry move from scale leadership to quality leadership.

Lock Core Shortcomings Focus on Frontier Technology Implementation

This forum revealed that existing technical achievements in China's automotive industry have firmly secured a spot in the global first echelon. Lithium-ion battery energy density reaches 300 Wh/kg, megawatt flash charging technology has achieved mass production application, and intelligent technologies such as human-machine interaction, end-to-end control, and in-vehicle large models are at the forefront globally. China's automotive production and sales have ranked first globally for 17 consecutive years, with new energy vehicle production and sales ranking first for 11 consecutive years. It has led the formulation of 18 global regulatory coordination documents and 30 international standards.

Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of China Automotive Technology and Research Center, General Manager Gong Jinfeng

Addressing existing shortcomings in the automotive industry, the state has clarified key research directions: concentrate on breakthroughs in "chokepoint" technologies such as high-end automotive chips, in-vehicle operating systems, all-solid-state batteries, and autonomous driving large models, accelerating the industrial implementation of frontier technologies. At the same time, focus on the pain points of autonomous driving scenario implementation, overcoming industry challenges such as vehicle-road collaboration, all-weather perception, and data silos.

Standing Member of the Party Committee of China National Machine Building Industry Federation, Vice President Luo Junjie

Attendees proposed that the development of smart vehicles needs to solidify the safety bottom line, focus on preventing multiple risks in vehicle operation, data transmission, and network security, and put an end to "bloating innovation" and "fast-track products", adhering to the quality and safety bottom line.

Multiple Measures Activate Domestic Demand Broaden Diverse Application Scenarios

Aiming at the current industry dilemma of insufficient domestic automotive consumer demand and low manufacturing profit margins, relevant ministries and commissions announced multiple measures to expand domestic demand and broaden the market at the forum. Continuously implement policies for automobile trade-ins and new energy vehicles going to the countryside, carry out pilot programs for short-board filling of county-level charging and swapping facilities and comprehensive hydrogen energy application, and improve the supporting system for new energy vehicle use at the grassroots level.

These measures also include key promotion of scaled commercial operation of new energy heavy trucks, issuance of automobile modification management measures, and enrichment of automotive consumption and application scenarios. At the same time, improve the automotive export guarantee system, open up channels for connection between domestic and export markets, and counter the pressure of domestic market growth rate.

Director of the Industrial Economy Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council Tian Jietang

Multiple guests at the forum predicted that China's domestic automotive industry has entered a stage of stock competition and elimination. The market focus has shifted from scale expansion to profitability improvement and order standardization. Channel models have shifted from single car sales to full lifecycle service operation for users.

Curb Irrational Competition Promote Orderly Industry Development

Aiming at prominent issues such as involution in the current automotive industry, malicious low-price competition, data falsification, blind hardware stacking, and pseudo-innovation. Attendees proposed regularly carrying out rectification of chaos, guiding the industry to bid farewell to extensive incremental competition, and shifting to value competition, quality competition, safety competition, and user value competition.

Industry experts explicitly proposed the development idea of "counter-involution, stabilize order" at the forum, suggested establishing an industry value evaluation system, abandoning the extensive development model of parameter comparison, building a regular joint research mechanism for whole vehicles, technology companies, and upstream and downstream supporting industries, reducing low-level repetitive exploration. At the same time, strengthen the recall supervision mechanism, force product quality upgrade with proactive recalls, clarify "safety is the core color of automotive industry development", and put an end to valueless false innovation.

Break Industry Boundaries Promote Cross-Domain Integration

This forum innovatively reconstructed the topic architecture, broke the traditional automotive industry chain segmentation model, set four theme days: scenario, technology, policy, and industry, promoted deep cross-boundary collaboration between automobiles and fields such as artificial intelligence, energy, transportation, aviation, and consumption, and reconstructed the boundaries of automotive industry development. Focusing on the integration of "Vehicle-Energy-Road-Cloud", building a three-dimensional intelligent transportation industry ecosystem.

The forum clearly pointed out the core direction for future ecosystem development: promote car companies and equipment companies to shift from simple supply and demand cooperation to joint innovation and symbiotic win-win. Promote standardization of in-vehicle domain interfaces and hardware platforms, reduce industry invalid involution and customization losses, and build a scaled shared technology platform. Establish a national-level collaborative innovation platform and data sharing rules, regulate the safe circulation of smart vehicle data security, and achieve closed-loop upgrades of the industrial chain, technology chain, and data chain.

2026 TEDA Auto Forum Think Tank Matrix

Persist in Open Win-Win Deepen International Cooperation

Since the beginning of this year, Chinese automobile exports have become an important driving force for Chinese automotive development. Facing the external environment where protectionism is intensifying, the forum sent a firm signal of opening up to the outside world. Firmly oppose trade protectionism, continuously promote mutual recognition of international automotive standards and regulations, welcome overseas enterprises to increase investment in China and participate in joint technological research. At the same time, support Chinese car companies and industry chain enterprises to deepen global cultivation, shifting from single product overseas to brand, technology, standard, supply chain, and service system all-round overseas expansion.

Emerging markets centered on Southeast Asia have become a key area for Chinese automotive industry overseas expansion. Attending Thai representatives clearly welcomed Chinese car companies' localization layout and co-building of regional new energy vehicle industry ecosystems, promoting localization production and industry chain supporting upgrades. (Article / Final Verdict Zhang Yi)