China Gives Strong Signal on Connected & Autonomous New Energy Vehicles

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It should come as a surprise to no one that the Chinese government is intent on leading continuing to lead on connected vehicles and electric vehicles, but the industry got a strong indication of support this week from the head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s (MIIT’s) equipment industry department, Guo Shougang.

During a media roundtable at the 2026 World Intelligent Connected Vehicle Conference — surely planned — Shougang shared that the MIIT will speed up the release of its 15th Five-Year Plan for smart, connected NEVs. It seems the industry is moving so fast and innovating so much that even the MIIT is struggling to keep up and having to pick up the pace. The longer the drafting process takes, the more likely it’s going to be out of date when released!

As state news outlet Xinhua/News.cn summarizes, he also said that the MIIT would “thoroughly implement the ‘National Standardization Development Outline,’ expedite breakthroughs in a number of key core technologies, accelerate the development, international coordination, and implementation of key standards, and further promote pilot applications, production access, and road access for ‘vehicle-road-cloud integration,’ thereby fostering an ecosystem that connects the entire industry chain.”

Elsewhere, it was highlighted that the country was already at the forefront of connected vehicle and NEV technology (as we all know) and that we are at an important precipice. Fu Bingfeng, Vice President and Secretary General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, “introduced the development and future trends of intelligent connected vehicles. He stated that the global intelligent connected vehicle industry is currently at a critical juncture, transitioning from combined driver assistance to autonomous driving, exhibiting an industrial landscape characterized by ‘intense competition, diversified exploration, and ecosystem restructuring.’ My country has fully leveraged its advantages in policy guidance, technological innovation, cross-industry collaboration, and market-driven development, placing its overall intelligent connected vehicle industry at the forefront internationally. Regarding key technological advancements, Chinese companies are actively catching up in the application of end-to-end autonomous driving models, leading the world in vehicle-road-cloud integration, achieving global leadership in human-machine interaction and multimodal perception, and forming a virtuous cycle of ‘mass production cost reduction and technology enhancement’ in core components such as LiDAR, high-performance chips, and communication terminals, thus promoting the construction of an industrial chain advantage. In the future, intelligent connected vehicles will continue to undergo profound changes in technology routes, product forms, technological ecosystems, and cross-industry integration. The World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference serves as an important platform connecting technological innovation, industrial practice, and international cooperation, playing a significant role in promoting the transformation and upgrading of the global automotive industry and building a safer, more convenient, and sustainable mobility system.”

In light of the strong announcements of support and an accelerated timeline for the 15th Five-Year Plan for smart, connected NEVs, stocks of various companies in this industry jumped, including the stock prices of BYD, Xiaomi, Leapmotor, Seres, NIO, XPENG, Li Auto, Geely, Chery, GAC, and surely more.

It seems to me that this is an indication the country wants to accelerate development and adoption of more connected, more autonomous, more high-tech, more electric vehicles. Stay tuned, and let’s see how long it takes for the country to get to 90% EV adoption! Any guesses?