A large number of Chinese-made vehicles were gathered at the terminal of at a port in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province, on September 10, 2026. Photo: VCG

China has set out the goal of becoming one of global automotive powerhouses by 2030, with new-energy passenger vehicle sales accounting for 70 percent of the total and autonomous driving being put into large-scale application, according to the 15th Five-Year Plan for the Intelligent Connected New-Energy Vehicle Industry released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and eight other government agencies on Friday.

China's efforts to build an automotive powerhouse will provide a scalable model for the global green transition and wider technology adoption, allowing more countries to share the benefits, and help strengthen the resilience of international industrial and supply chains and offer a reference model for the industrialization of Global South countries, according to industry experts.

Automotive blueprint

The plan identifies intelligent connected new-energy vehicles (NEVs) as the primary direction of the ongoing transformation and upgrading of the global automotive industry, the prime example of new quality productive forces, and a key component of a modern industrial system.

It sets targets of further consolidating the strengths of China's intelligent connected NEV industry across the entire industrial chain over the next five years, with NEVs set to account for 70 percent of new passenger vehicle sales and 40 percent of new commercial vehicle sales in the domestic market by 2030.

Vehicles equipped with autonomous driving functions are expected to see large-scale application by 2030, while highly automated driving is expected on expressways, urban express roads and some urban roads. The plan calls for further advances in key technologies, setting targets for average passenger vehicle fuel consumption at 3.3 liters per 100 kilometers (km) and average electricity consumption of pure electric passenger vehicles at around 11.5 kilowatt-hours per 100 km by 2030.

The targets set for the automotive industry during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30) are broad, pragmatic and of profound significance, Zhang Xiang, secretary-general of the International Intelligent Vehicle Engineering Association, told the Global Times on Friday.

"The scale of the NEV industry continues to expand, and its industrial maturity is steadily rising. The patterns of industry development have become clearer, and the plan provides the necessary support for the implementation of these targets," Zhang said. 

He added that a series of mandatory targets such as fuel consumption will steer domestic vehicle models toward smaller and lighter designs, thereby shifting the development of China's automotive industry from the past pursuit of scale expansion to a stage of high-quality development centered on energy conservation and green transition.

In addition, the document also makes clear that innovations in technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) models and AI agents will be applied first in the automotive industry. This top-level plan carries strategic significance for China as it seizes the opportunities in intelligent connected vehicles and consolidates its leading edge in the NEV industry, Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund, told the Global Times on Friday.

As an advantage manufacturing industry, the automotive sector's pioneering rollout of AI applications at scale will not only further sharpen the product competitiveness of China's NEVs, but also feed back into the overall growth of the country's AI industry, generating a mutually reinforcing effect, Yang said.

Further opening-up

The plan also calls for further international expansion, with companies expected to strengthen global operations, Chinese auto brands to gain greater recognition, and China to have a stronger voice in shaping international standards and regulations by 2030.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, "we will remain committed to opening-up in the automotive sector and encourage Chinese and foreign companies to deepen cooperation in such areas as R&D, standard-setting and industrial chain collaboration," Shao Ji, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference on Friday.

"We support foreign-invested enterprises in deepening their presence in the Chinese market, sharing the advantages of China's complete industrial chain, and working with Chinese partners to develop NEV models for the global market. We also support Chinese automakers in learning from the advanced experience of international companies, continuously raising their technological capabilities from a higher starting point, and bringing Chinese products and technologies to the world," Shao said.

This comes as China's NEV industry continues to rise globally. In the first seven months of 2026, China's car exports grew by 66.8 percent year-on-year to reach 6.14 million. Exports of NEVs soared 120 percent year-on-year to reach 2.91 million, industry data showed.

Meanwhile, China has also stepped up its participation in international rule-making for intelligent vehicles. In June, the world's first global technical regulation on automated driving systems, jointly developed by China and several other parties, was adopted, with China leading the drafting of its core contents.

Notably, China's call for greater global cooperation comes even as some Western media outlets have continued to smear the Chinese auto industry with groundless claims such as "overcapacity." A recent article in The Economist bluntly claimed that "China won't apologize for overcapacity," smearing China's auto industry policies. 

Chinese officials and experts have repeatedly rejected claims against China's auto industry.

Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, told the Global Times on Friday that in recent years, China's NEV exports have grown strongly, driven primarily by multiple overlapping dividends from industry, market and policy.

"China has the world's most complete NEV industrial chain, with significant scale advantages in lithium batteries, the three core electric components - battery, motor and electronic control - and vehicle manufacturing. It outperforms overseas automakers in cost and iteration speed, and stands out for the cost-effectiveness and intelligent features of its products," Cui said.

Chinese NEV companies have sustained research and development (R&D) investment and industrial positioning for more than two decades, building distinctive technological advantages. The energy density of power batteries has risen by over 50 percent compared with 2018, while production costs have fallen by more than 60 percent, according to a document titled "China's Position on the So-called Excess Capacity Issue" issued by the Ministry of Commerce in July.

Huge potential for growth still lies ahead both in China and abroad. 

"Global NEV penetration remains far from reaching its ceiling. The rapid growth of China's exports shows precisely this: far from being 'surplus', such advanced production capacity still falls far short of demand - the world needs it," Cui said.

China, meanwhile, has kept opening up its automotive sector and improving its business environment to share development opportunities with foreign automakers. For example, Volkswagen has established its first and largest integrated R&D base outside Germany in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province, which shortens the overall vehicle development time directly by 30 percent. BYD has licensed its e-platform 3.0 to Toyota and blade battery technology to Hyundai.