For three years in a row, China has become the world's largest automobile production country and the largest automotive market, but it is large but not strong. Su Bo, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said here on September 1 that China’s auto industry has high dependence on foreign technology and its own brand competitiveness is not strong. As China's automobile industry enters an important transition period, it is imperative to realize a change from quantity to quality.

Su Bo said at the China Automotive Industry Development (TEDA) International Forum that China’s automobile production and sales have been increasing at an average annual rate of more than 20% in the past 10 years. The structure of automotive products tends to be reasonable, basically satisfying the domestic high-speed growth of consumer demand. The ability to innovate continues to increase, making important progress in key technology areas. At the same time, the concentration of the automotive industry has also increased.

Su Bo pointed out that the rapid development of the automotive industry in China has also exposed many problems. Concentrate on the performance of the self-owned brand market is not strong, especially the long-term dependence on foreign technology and brand has weakened the ability of independent brand innovation. Joint ventures that account for most of the production and sales of cars still rely on the introduction of foreign technology as their main route, failing to truly enter the main battlefield of independent innovation.

Su Bo believes that China's auto industry is in a period of stable development and there is still room for growth. It is necessary to get rid of the past period of continuous development with investment and scale expansion, and enter a new phase with the core of strengthening independent innovation and improving China's industrial international competitiveness.

Su Bo suggested that there is still room for expansion of the automobile consumer market to urban and rural markets. The key to the next stage is the improvement of technology, the adjustment of product structure and the cultivation of independent brands. Promote the transformation and upgrading of the automotive industry toward energy-saving and new energy sources, and realize overall development from big to strong.