The 200,000th vehicle of Voyah, a Chinese NEV brand, rolls off the assembly line in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, April 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun)
BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Faced with rapid changes in global auto industry, rising complexity in global trade ties, growing uncertainties in the auto industrial chain and supply chain, China's new energy vehicle (NEV) has been embracing global collaboration with openness and innovation.
-- Boosting localized operations
"The traditional model featuring brand exports and whole vehicle investment is becoming unsustainable amid the evolving global auto market," said Zhang Yongwei from China EV100, a non-governmental research and policy institute, at the recently concluded Global New Energy Vehicle Cooperation and Development (Shanghai) Forum 2025 (GNEV2025 Shanghai).
Chinese automakers are adopting localized globalization strategies. XPeng Motors' head of International Operations Tang Zhikun reported near-complete European market coverage through four distribution models. The company also sponsors Norway's cycling events to engage with local communities.
Voyah, another Chinese NEV brand, targets 60 countries with over 500 stores by 2030. "We've customized applications and integrated local financial supply chains," said Gao Yuan, senior director of Overseas Business at Voyah, noting their localized resource strategy.
-- Powering industrial synergy
Chinese NEV's global expansion requires coordinated industrial development, particularly in batteries and charging infrastructure.
Gotion High-tech is one of the earliest Chinese manufacturers to develop power batteries for NEVs. Gotion High-tech's vice president of Strategic Operations Xiong Yonghua highlighted their fourth-gen battery tech, with eight global R&D centers and 20 production bases. The company holds more than 10,000 global patents.
Many countries in Europe, North America and Southeast Asia have introduced policies related to localizing production of batteries and reducing carbon footprints, which raise the bar for enterprises. For example, the European Union (EU) rolled out a new Battery Regulation, which requires battery producers to assume extended responsibility, including the collection, treatment, recycling and disposal of batteries.
Responding to this new law, Gotion High-tech plans to build 99 recycling outlets this year either through building its own recycling supply chain or building a recycling system with overseas strategic partners, said Xiong.
Talking of overseas charging infrastructure, Sun Maojian, vice chairman of CJNOO Sustainable Energy Co., Ltd., called for unified smart charging standards amid over 40 percent electrification penetration, urging mutual certification recognition among China, Europe and ASEAN countries.
-- Establishing support network
As the top auto exporter, China's transition from product sales to deep local integration demands enhanced operational capabilities and comprehensive support network.
In the era of digital globalization, automakers face new challenges. "Security and compliance form the critical first step in overseas expansion. Companies cannot afford rushed market entries where products are launched recklessly and withdrawn after failures," said Shen Tao, general manager of Industry Clusters at AWS (China). He emphasized that beyond regional regulatory mandates, the industry must now address emerging requirements spanning generative AI applications and data privacy protection.
"The globalization process represents a holistic industrial chain breakthrough," said Bai Hua, general manager of Solutions and Delivery at China Unicom Smart Connection Technology, advocating country-specific strategies. The company has deployed telematics platforms in Frankfurt, Riyadh, Singapore, and Mexico City, with plans to expand into industrial digitalization solutions.
Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group's vice president of Automotive AI Solutions Xing Di noted the industry's shift to "intelligence-driven globalization," with their Tongyi large model enhancing in-vehicle systems. The cloud provider is deploying full-stack AI capabilities globally to support overseas expansion.
(Edited by Li Shimeng with Xinhua Silk Road, lishimeng@xinhua.org)
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