China’s automotive industry has entered a decisive stage of transforming from scale expansion to comprehensive high-quality development and evolving from a large industrial country to an industrial powerhouse. The 15th Five-Year Plan period will serve as a core window for industrial upgrading and iteration. Over the next five years, the industry will witness accelerated iteration of electrification technologies, full-chain penetration of digital and intelligent transformation, and profound restructuring of the global competitive landscape.
At the press conference of the 33rd China Society of Automotive Engineers Annual Congress & Exhibition (SAECCE 2026) and Automotive Innovation Technology Exhibition (AITX) held on June 3, Hou Fushen, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of China Society of Automotive Engineers (CSAE), predicted that by 2030, new energy passenger vehicles will account for over 70% of new car sales, while the installation rate of L3 and L4 autonomous driving functions in new passenger vehicles will exceed 35%. China’s overseas automobile sales are expected to reach nearly 10 million units, making internationalization a core growth driver for the high-quality development of the domestic automotive industry.
Hosted by Feng Jinshan, Director of the Academic Development Department of CSAE, the press conference was attended by Hou Fushen, Zhao Lijin, Deputy Secretary-General of CSAE, and Zheng Yali, Deputy Secretary-General of CSAE and Executive President of the International Strategy Institute, who answered questions from media representatives.
Scheduled to take place from October 27 to 30, 2026, at Suzhou International Expo Center, SAECCE 2026 adheres to the goals of "larger scale, higher quality and stronger practical results". Adopting an integrated model of "conferences, exhibitions and competitions", the event will feature more than 140 conferences and activities, nearly 1,400 collected academic papers, and a 35,000-square-meter exhibition area. It is expected to gather 350 exhibitors and 20,000 professional delegates from over 30 countries and regions worldwide, building an annual global grand event for automotive technological exchanges and innovation.
Seven Major Highlights: AI Empowers Full Industrial Chain Innovation
Hou Fushen elaborated on the seven core highlights of SAECCE 2026 and AITX. Breaking traditional event models, this year’s annual congress takes AI as the core thread, global vision as the orientation, and precise industrial docking as the focus, comprehensively upgrading the system for industrial exchange and achievement transformation.
First, AI runs through all agenda topics as an underlying methodology. Instead of listing AI as an independent technology sector, the congress defines AI as a fundamental technology covering the entire automotive industrial chain. It covers a full range of innovative scenarios, including the iteration of foundational models and intelligent driving training paradigms, intelligent cockpits, intelligent chassis, AI-enabled powertrain efficiency optimization, AI-driven lightweight vehicle design, intelligent manufacturing, and the collaborative evolution of embodied intelligence and the automotive industry, fully demonstrating AI’s reconstruction of all links in automotive engineering.
Second, hierarchical arrangement meets diversified demands. The event continues to adopt the "1+N+6+X" four-level conference system, including one opening ceremony and general assembly, 9 core main forums, over 100 thematic conferences covering six key fields, and a series of concurrent activities. It precisely meets differentiated needs for strategic discussion, academic research, technological implementation and industrial application, focusing on cutting-edge tracks such as vehicle dynamics, intelligent connected vehicles, power batteries, intelligent chassis, low-altitude economy, artificial intelligence, automotive chips and software, automotive safety, and embodied intelligent robots.
Third, optimized exhibition zones cater to industrial demands. Centering on intelligent connected new energy vehicles, AITX has restructured its exhibition layout, setting up featured zones for intelligent connection, chassis and new energy powertrain systems, as well as simulation and testing. The optimization enables precise docking between vehicle manufacturers and technology suppliers, greatly improving negotiation efficiency and technological matching accuracy.
Fourth, integrated conferences and exhibitions form industry-university-research closed loop. Digital tools including on-site screen drainage, mini-program intelligent recommendation, VIP targeted docking and exhibitor reverse invitation break the barriers between conferences and exhibitions. A complete industrial docking system is established to realize "discussing technical challenges at conferences, matching solutions at exhibitions, and promoting cooperation through themed activities".
Fifth, global innovation network linkage with domestic roots. The summit will gather hundreds of global industry experts and enterprise leaders from more than 30 countries and regions, together with 40 outstanding international young talents for academic exchanges. Overseas startup roadshows will also be launched to build a bridge for global docking of cutting-edge technologies, talents and resources in the automotive sector.
Sixth, full-cycle services empower sustainable industrial development. The annual congress and AITX provide year-round normalized services, including tracking industry hotspots and reviewing cutting-edge technologies before the event, supporting brand exposure and precise docking during the event, and releasing think tank reports, industrial standards and technical achievements after the event, delivering continuous value throughout the year.
Seventh, gather industrial forces to prosper innovation ecosystem. The event is set to assemble more than 20 academicians, over 200 enterprise technical leaders, 2,000 industry influencers and 20,000 professional attendees, providing a high-quality platform for technological iteration, partner matching and market resource integration.
Solid Preparations Advance with Breakthroughs in Multiple Innovative Fields
Zhao Lijin introduced the latest preparation progress of the annual congress. Centering on new industrial ideas, technologies and trends, this year’s event features four major advantages: AI-driven agenda system upgrading, focus on 2026 technological mass production inflection points and commercial breakthroughs to accelerate industrial implementation, optimized brand building of featured forums including the International Mobility Forum, Intelligent Chassis Conference for Electric Vehicles and Lightweight Vehicle Conference, and innovative exchange mechanisms to optimize participant experience.
Under the continued "1+N+6+X" framework, the event arranges 1 opening ceremony, 9 main forums, and nearly 80 thematic conferences covering six core fields: vehicle energy conservation, new energy vehicles, intelligent connected vehicles, general basic technologies, vehicle integration and performance, as well as intelligent manufacturing and equipment. More than 20 additional technical seminars will be launched after paper review, and nearly 30 concurrent activities will coordinate with main and thematic forums to echo the 15th Five-Year Plan technological development system of China’s automotive industry.
Embodied intelligence and low-altitude economy stand out as key emerging tracks of the congress. Relying on the newly established Embodied Intelligent Robot Branch of CSAE, the 2026 Embodied Intelligent Robot Conference will be held, releasing the prospect report on embodied intelligence application scenarios and large models in the automotive field. In addition, the Flight Vehicle and Low-Altitude Economy Conference will be launched with cross-industry forces from aviation, transportation and communication sectors, carrying out collaborative research on standard formulation, testing verification and safety evaluation.
In terms of exhibition preparation, over 150 enterprises have confirmed their participation in AITX by the end of May, steadily advancing towards the target of 350 exhibitors. The exhibitor structure has been further optimized, bringing together mainstream domestic automakers including Changan, Dongfeng, Great Wall, Seres and Xiaomi, domestic automotive chip leaders such as Horizon, XCC and Xingchen, as well as global giants including Bosch, Siemens and Dassault, realizing in-depth coupling of the entire industrial chain. All six concurrent exhibition activities have entered the implementation stage, and the newly upgraded exhibitor system was officially launched on June 1.
Mid-Year Industrial Insights Released, Authoritative Research Empowers Industrial Decision-Making
Zheng Yali released CSAE’s 2026 mid-year insights on automotive industry trends and core technologies. Market data shows that from January to April 2026, China’s new energy vehicle sales reached 4.304 million units with a market penetration rate of 45%. The country’s automobile export volume hit 3.127 million units, a year-on-year increase of 61.5%, making overseas market expansion a core growth engine for the industry.
Six core technological trends were summarized for 2026: First, high-capacity HEVs have become a major growth segment, serving as a key path to realize "intelligent integration of gasoline and electric vehicles". Second, the penetration rate of new energy commercial vehicles keeps rising, with battery electric vehicles dominating short-haul transportation within 500km daily mileage and fuel cell vehicles leading zero-carbon transformation for medium and long-haul heavy-duty scenarios. Third, L3 autonomous driving has entered a critical industrialization window and is an inevitable path for large-scale, commercial and standardized mass production of L4 autonomous driving in passenger vehicles. Fourth, the large-scale deployment of AI Agents is becoming a core competitiveness of new vehicles, transforming intelligent cockpits from functional tools to intelligent partners. Fifth, steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire technologies have achieved mass production, laying a solid hardware foundation for high-level autonomous driving. Sixth, the structural shortage of vehicle storage chips creates a strategic window for domestic substitution, and cross-industry collaboration between automobiles and semiconductors is the key to breaking industry bottlenecks.
All industrial insights have been fully integrated into the event’s agenda design, forming a closed-loop system of "hotspot research - agenda planning - conference implementation - exhibition presentation". Targeted main forums on artificial intelligence, automotive chips and software, and intelligent chassis have been set up, while AITX exhibition zones will showcase cutting-edge solutions including mass-produced L3 autonomous vehicles, cross-domain computing chips and by-wire chassis technologies.
Furthermore, SAECCE 2026 will witness the global launch of multiple authoritative research achievements. The 2027 Top 10 Automotive Technology Trends in China and the updated 3-5 year industrial technology development roadmap will be released. The white paper on AI-powered intelligent vehicle powertrain systems will make its debut, alongside the launch of the China Automotive Industry Development Blue Book and in-depth research on new energy commercial vehicles. These authoritative outputs will provide professional decision-making support for government industrial management, enterprise strategic layout and industrial upgrading, helping China’s automotive industry achieve high-quality leapfrog development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
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