GNEV2026 General Assembly Held in Shanghai: Forging New Paths for Automotive Globalization

From August 19–21, the Global New Energy Vehicle Cooperation & Development Forum was held in Shanghai. As the centerpiece of this year's forum, the General Assembly — themed "New Pathways for Global Collaboration in the Automotive Industry" — brought together government officials, domestic and international OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, and industry associations to conduct in-depth discussions along two core tracks: the internationalization of Chinese automakers and deeper collaboration between multinational automakers and their China operations.

From 'China Opportunity 1.0' to '2.0'

Zhang Yongwei, Chief International Expert at Chebai International, noted that China's automotive globalization is evolving from a past 'passive integration into the world' (Stage 1.0) to today's 'proactive global strategy' (Stage 2.0). He stressed that the industry must move beyond solo efforts and treat 'collaborative overseas expansion' as a hard constraint — avoiding overcrowded overseas deployments and cutthroat competition. Automakers should rationally plan production capacity and lead upstream and downstream suppliers abroad, empowering local industrial upgrading in host countries. Countries can align with China's industrial resource pool across four dimensions — markets, supply chains, hubs, and manufacturing — to jointly capture the dividends of electrification and intelligentization.

'System-Level Global Expansion' Emerges as Consensus: Beyond Selling Cars Toward Rooted, Symbiotic Presence

Dick Zhirui, Deputy Changan, acknowledged that Chinese automakers have already solved the problems of 'getting out' and 'selling well,' but over the next 5–10 years, achieving 'entry, establishment, and sustainability' still hinges on overcoming three key challenges: insufficient brand premium, imbalanced volume-profit dynamics, and weak localization foundations. Wang Lang, Deputy Chery, added that the quality of globalization is not measured by how many countries a company enters — but by its ability to sustainably deliver user value, deepen industrial integration, and ensure long-term operational viability.

Lu Fang, Chairman of VOYAH, further elaborated the evolutionary logic of 'going global → moving upmarket → integrating locally': 'Going global' relies on robust products and localized adaptation; 'moving upmarket' requires shifting from scale advantage to value advantage; and 'integrating locally' demands an upgrade from product exports to ecosystem co-construction. Liang Linhe (SANY Group), Kang Pinglu (Dishang Tie), and Zhu Yongqing (Great Wall Motors) all emphasized that globalization is not about replicating templates — it's about scenario-driven vehicle development, full-lifecycle asset operation, and triple symbiosis across technology, ecosystem, and value creation.

Foreign Perspective: In China, for the World

The afternoon session focused on multinational automakers' development in China, under the theme "In China, for China; In China, for the World." Zhang Lin, Chief Representative of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (China), observed that Sino-German cooperation is transitioning from 'German technology + Chinese market' to 'Chinese innovation + global sharing.' Collaboration has also expanded beyond joint manufacturing into joint standard-setting and ecosystem-level synergy.

Wu Yanyan (BMW Group), Li Yaxu (Magna), Yang Xiaoming (Aptiv), and Gu Jianmin (Valeo) unanimously agreed that foreign enterprises must accelerate integration into China's electrification, digitalization, and intelligentization processes — strengthening local R&D capabilities and supply chain resilience — and feed China-born technological advances back into their global systems. Li Xiaohé of NXP highlighted a critical distinction: domestic cycles prioritize rapid iteration and responsiveness, while overseas cycles emphasize reliability and total lifecycle cost — requiring fundamentally differentiated strategies.

During the forum, the 'Automotive Industry International Cooperation Base' was officially signed for joint construction; the first cohort of partner organizations moved in, and the 'China–Thailand New Energy Vehicle Service Talent Certification & Training Program' was launched. The M100 Multinational Automotive Enterprises in China High-Quality Development Action Partners Award Ceremony was also held — marking a new stage of institutionalized, platform-based collaboration between Chinese and foreign automotive industries.