From Scratch to Global: High-Quality Development in Commercial Vehicle Industry

--- A Tribute to the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China

From starting from scratch to rapid development,from self-improvement to going global...Over the past 70 years,China's commercial vehicle industry has not only rapidly expanded in sales volume but also enriched its product variety and continuously enhanced its international competitiveness.It has been the world's largest producer and market for commercial vehicles for many years in a row."Independent innovation and autonomous control have become the winning formula for the commercial vehicle industry," said Wang Xia,President of the Automobile Sub-Council of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Automobile Industry Chamber of Commerce of the China Chamber of International Commerce.We must always firmly grasp the key core technologies in our own hands and promote high-quality development with high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and strength.

In the 75 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China,China's automotive industry has grown from nothing to something,and from small to large; over these 75 years,China's automotive market has flourished and grown from weak to strong.Especially in the past decade,amidst the global automotive industry's transformation,domestic brands have emerged as a dark horse in the new energy race,and multinational car companies have accelerated their transformation with the help of the Chinese market.The Chinese automotive industry has ushered in a rare opportunity to become a "leader." To this end,the Auto Channel of China Economic Network has launched a series of reports to comprehensively and systematically review and inventory,and today presents the seventh article: "From Starting from Scratch to Going Global,the Commercial Vehicle Industry Achieves High-Quality Development."

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China,China's commercial vehicle industry has experienced the initial stage and development stage of starting from scratch,and entered the rapid development stage after the reform and opening up.In the past decade,the commercial vehicle industry has ushered in a new stage of rapid development with both quantitative and qualitative growth.While annual sales have repeatedly reached new highs,it has achieved high-quality development in product quality and the entire industry,and has completed the transformation from "bringing in" to "going out."

From Starting from Scratch to Rapid Development

In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China,the foundation of China's commercial vehicle industry was weak."The older generation of automotive people,on the basis of 'poverty and blankness,' pioneeringly completed the construction of 'from nothing to something' mainly with commercial vehicles,making an important contribution to the recovery and development of the national economy,and laying the foundation for the further development of China's automotive industry," said Zhang Shulin,former deputy director of the Automobile Department of the former Ministry of Mechanical Industry,former executive vice chairman and secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers,and a researcher-level senior engineer."In this process of 'from nothing to something,starting from scratch,' China's commercial vehicle industry gradually established a preliminary production system."

On July 13,1956,the first Jiefang brand CA10 came off the assembly line.

From 1956 to 1960,with representative events such as the production of the Jiefang CA10,the Nanjing Automobile's Yuejin NJ130 light truck,and the Yellow River JN150 eight-ton truck,China had a preliminary commercial vehicle product system.Although at that time,the variety and quantity of commercial vehicle industry products were extremely limited,they also provided the most basic important transportation guarantee for the country's economic construction and national defense.And by 1969,when China's Second Automobile Works "settled" in Shiyan,Hubei,it marked the preliminary formation of China's commercial vehicle production base system.

Since the reform and opening up,with the rapid development of the national economy,the demand for commercial vehicles has continued to increase,and China has increased its investment in the commercial vehicle industry.Enterprises have introduced advanced production technology and management experience through technology introduction,joint ventures,and cooperation,which has improved the production technology and quality level of commercial vehicle products.Represented by the introduction of Steyr heavy trucks,Isuzu light trucks,and light vehicles such as Transit,Iveco,and Haisi,not only has it solved the "shortage of light and lack of heavy" situation that plagued China's commercial vehicle industry for a long time,but it has also launched a series of competitive products,and the commercial vehicle industry has entered a stage of rapid development.

During this stage,the sales scale of China's commercial vehicle industry expanded rapidly,with annual sales increasing from 144,000 vehicles in 1978 to 3.7913 million vehicles in 2014.At the same time,the product variety has become more abundant.In terms of trucks,various heavy,medium,and light trucks have launched products of different sizes to adapt to different vehicle usage scenarios.In terms of buses,various products including fuel,gas,and pure electric have been launched for segmented fields such as intercity long-distance and urban public transportation.In addition to the basic models,various types of special-purpose vehicles are more prominent.Beyond the fundamental general freight transport,new upgraded products have been launched in the fields of hazardous chemical transportation and special operations,which not only meet market demands but also strongly promote the development of the special-purpose vehicle industry,achieving import substitution in several specialized vehicle segments.

From self-improvement to going global

In the past decade,the commercial vehicle industry has entered a new era of innovative development.With the continuous advancement of technology and the increase in environmental protection requirements,China's commercial vehicle industry is moving towards intelligent and green development.The research and promotion of new energy commercial vehicles have achieved significant results,and the application of intelligent connected technology in commercial vehicles is becoming more widespread.At the same time,China's commercial vehicle companies are actively expanding into overseas markets to enhance their international competitiveness.

Sinotruk showcased at the 2024 IAA Commercial Vehicles Show in Hanover,Germany

BYD showcased at the 2024 IAA Commercial Vehicles Show in Hanover,Germany

In 2020,against the backdrop of overcoming multiple unfavorable factors,the annual sales volume of China's commercial vehicle industry reached a historical high of 4.53 million units.Although market sales showed a regular decline after entering the market adjustment period,the entire industry showed a positive trend of shifting from high-speed growth in sales volume to high-quality development.Driven by multiple favorable factors,the sales volume of new energy commercial vehicles has been rising all the way,with annual sales volume jumping from the 100,000 level to the 300,000 level,becoming a new growth point for the industry.

"In recent years,industry-leading companies have been steadily advancing the development strategy of new energy commercial vehicles,with clear goals and forward-looking layout.The marketization process of new energy light vehicles is relatively fast,and the key technologies of new energy heavy trucks continue to achieve breakthroughs,indicating that the country's 'dual carbon' strategy has been actively responded to in the commercial vehicle industry." Wang Xia,the chairman of the Automobile Industry Branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the China Chamber of International Commerce for the Automobile Industry,said,"In the future,the direction of technical products,market orientation,and corporate strategy of China's commercial vehicles will undergo significant changes due to the development of new energy commercial vehicles."

At the same time,the export field of commercial vehicles has also achieved high-quality development.First,the sales volume has grown rapidly,with the export volume of commercial vehicles increasing rapidly over the past three years.According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers,in 2023,the export volume of China's commercial vehicles reached 770,000 units,a year-on-year increase of 32.2%; from January to August this year,the export of commercial vehicles was 597,000 units,a year-on-year increase of 22.8%.

Secondly,the export market continues to expand.The export volume of China's commercial vehicle products not only maintains growth in traditional developing country markets such as Africa and ASEAN but also gradually expands into traditional high-end markets such as Europe and North America,competing with established commercial vehicle companies.Especially in the new energy and high-end vehicle markets,they have repeatedly obtained substantial large orders.In September of this year,at the world-renowned commercial vehicle exhibition held in Hanover,Germany,several Chinese car companies appeared at the exhibition,showcasing and releasing brand-new products that represent the world's leading level.

"After more than 70 years of hard work,China's commercial vehicle industry has become the world's largest producer and market of commercial vehicles for many years.Independent innovation and self-control have become the magic weapons for the commercial vehicle industry to win." Wang Xia said,"We must always firmly grasp the core key technologies in our own hands,be in a favorable position in the industrial chain,maintain the security and controllability of the supply chain,avoid the 'neck-strangling' phenomenon,and promote high-quality development with high-level scientific and technological self-reliance."