The 2027 High‑Level Forum on Intelligent Electric Vehicle Development to Kick off in Beijing next January

China’s automotive industry has entered a brand‑new development cycle. Domestic market competition keeps intensifying while overseas business expands at an accelerated pace. Instead of pursuing sheer scale expansion, industrial competition is now oriented toward higher quality and greater efficiency. Driven by frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence, cross‑sector integration between automobiles, energy, transportation and digital technologies is deepening, bringing both opportunities and challenges.

How will the industry’s growth logic evolve in the new era? Where can new growth drivers be unlocked? How should enterprises foster fresh industrial momentum and build innovative collaborative ecosystems? Against this backdrop, the Chebaihui Research Institute will host the 2027 High‑Level Forum on Intelligent Electric Vehicle Development in Beijing from January 22 to 24, themed “Forge a New Development Paradigm and Pursue New‑Growth for China’s Automotive Industry”.

As a pre‑event warm‑up, the press conference for Chebaihui Annual Conference & 2027 High‑Level Forum on Intelligent Electric Vehicle Development was successfully held on September 15. Presided over by Liu Xiaoshi, Vice Chairman‑Secretary‑General of Chebaihui Research Institute, the event gathered industry experts and media representatives.

At the conference, Zhang Yongwei, Chairman of Chebaihui Research Institute, pointed out that China’s auto industry has stepped out of the phase of rapid scale‑led growth and entered a period of profound market adjustment. He projected that domestic annual vehicle sales will remain around 25 million units during the 15th Five‑Year Plan period. Sustaining annual sales of roughly 25 million vehicles will be critical to stabilizing domestic circulation, and the market is expected to enter a recovery phase in 2027.

Faced with market shifts and reshuffled growth logic, Shi Jianhua, Vice Chairman of Chebaihui Research Institute, noted that the upcoming forum will pool insights from across the industrial chain to jointly explore high‑quality and sustainable development pathways.

Industrial Trends: High‑Growth Era Ends, Intense Competition Dominates the Market

In his keynote Situation and Outlook of China’s Automotive Industry, Zhang Yongwei analyzed industrial trends, market restructuring, business‑model transformation and global layout.

From a long‑term perspective, China’s automotive sector is undergoing transition between old and new growth drivers. Growth momentum originating from traditional fuel vehicles is fading, while electrification, intelligence and globalization represent irreversible trends. While confidence in industrial upgrading should be maintained, enterprises must recognize that this transition will be long‑term, accompanied by structural reshuffling and intensified competition.

Domestically, the industry prioritizes stability over breakneck expansion. The market in 2026 cannot replicate the high growth recorded in 2025; market stability will stand as a core task for the 15th Five‑Year Plan period. Structural divergence keeps unfolding: domestic consumption undergoes deep adjustment, and exports become a major growth pillar. Commercial vehicles maintain upward momentum whereas passenger vehicles enter a steady development stage. Such divergence is not entirely negative — the core task for the industry is to identify fresh growth points amid adjustments.

“After the high‑growth era comes profound adjustment, which essentially means fierce competition,” Zhang Yongwei commented. The old scale‑expansion model faces mounting constraints. On one hand, improving regulatory frameworks set higher standards for corporate compliance, safety and environmental performance. On the other hand, cut‑throat competition, shifting consumer demands and squeezed profit margins force automakers to revamp their operational models.

Globalization serves as both a strategic opportunity and a key transformation lever. Despite robust export performance, Chinese automakers confront uncertainties including geopolitical tensions, tariff barriers and localisation requirements. Enterprises must move beyond pure product exports and advance toward globalised branding, manufacturing and capability building, rolling out new overseas strategies featuring localised operation and industrial collaboration.

New growth opportunities also lie in artificial intelligence, intelligent driving, battery innovation and charging infrastructure. According to Zhang Yongwei, the automotive industry should fully embrace AI, which will reshape cockpit experience, corporate management, marketing, after‑sales service and used‑car businesses across the whole industrial chain. AI is set to become a major highlight within the next two years. Technological breakthroughs and commercialisation will also arrive for intelligent driving, advanced batteries and charging‑swap infrastructure.

Enterprises need to cultivate their second‑growth curves. Based on new automotive hardware platforms, they can expand into embodied intelligence, low‑altitude economy, energy storage and after‑market services. By coordinating domestic and international markets and strengthening in‑house AI competence, companies can unlock brand‑new development space via renewed value propositions.

Upgraded Forum: Optimised Organisation for High‑End Industrial Exchange

Interpreting the forum theme, Shi Jianhua summarised six features of China’s auto industry from January to August 2026: sluggish domestic demand, booming overseas sales, fierce market competition, new‑energy dominance, vigorous innovation and deep cross‑industry integration. These realities lay the foundation for the forum’s agenda design.

The forum centres on four pillars: new cycle, new momentum, new ecosystem and new space.

• New Cycle: Moving past scale expansion toward technology‑driven growth featuring stock‑market competition, global outreach and cross‑sector integration.
• New Momentum: Accelerated implementation of solid‑state batteries, high‑level autonomous driving and large AI models to open new tracks through technological industrialisation.
• New Ecosystem: In‑depth collaboration among automotive, energy, transportation and AI sectors; coordinated development of intelligent vehicles, embodied robots and low‑altitude economy.
• New Space: Growth potential released in overseas markets, emerging consumption scenarios and automotive after‑sales services.

All four dimensions converge toward one goal: delivering new‑growth for China’s automotive industry.

Major upgrades have been made to the forum’s organisational setup. For the first time, a Presidium composed of industry specialists and corporate leaders will steer strategic directions and approve core agendas, enhancing the forum’s authority and industrial influence.

Running for three days, the event adopts a “1+1+1+N” framework: one High‑Level Forum, one High‑Level Seminar, one International Forum, plus multiple themed sub‑forums. The High‑Level Forum, International Forum and sub‑forums will be held at the China National Convention Center. The closed‑door High‑Level Seminar on China’s Automotive Industry Situation & Policy will take place at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, with invitations extended to government departments, institutions, research institutes and industrial representatives.

Shi Jianhua introduced six highlights of the forum:

1. Strategic positioning: Agenda closely aligned with characteristics of the new‑phase automotive industry.
2. Multi‑dimensional conference system: Dual core of open high‑level forum and in‑depth closed‑door seminar.
3. Practical‑oriented topics: Input collected from government, academia and the full industrial chain.
4. Exhibition‑conference integration: Three exhibition zones covering complete vehicles, supply chain and integrated intelligence.
5. Think‑tank output: Release of multiple authoritative industrial research reports during the event.
6. Co‑construction mechanism: Joint themed sub‑forums hosted together with leading enterprises to build premium industrial dialogue ecosystems.

Preparations for the forum are well underway. Through high‑level dialogues, policy discussions, international exchanges and thematic sessions, Chebaihui Annual Conference & 2027 High‑Level Forum on Intelligent Electric Vehicle Development will gather wisdom from all stakeholders to explore viable new‑growth paths for China’s automotive sector.