In the future, 80 percent of local brands and 90 percent of new car makers in China will die, said Zhu Huarong, chairman of legacy carmaker Changan Automobile.

Zhu made this judgment to eeo.com.cn when talking about the competition in China's auto industry recently, saying that Changan's strategy is to follow the development trend.

Changan will build on its strong manufacturing capabilities to transform itself into a technology company, Zhu said.

Zhu became Changan's chairman in June 2020 and also serves as chairman of Changan Ford.

Nearly a year into his tenure, Zhu has made bold changes to Changan and introduced a follow-on investment system for many of Changan's projects, which has led to an improvement in its performance.

In 2020, Changan generated RMB 84.566 billion ($1.31 billion) in revenue, up 20 percent year-on-year, and a net profit of RMB 3.324 billion, compared to a loss in the previous year.

Changan's share price has risen from RMB10 per share when Zhu became chairman to RMB 24 per share now.

However, the company is also suffering from a shortage of chips.

Zhu said the company has been having executives in Shanghai communicating with chip suppliers on a daily basis in order to keep production operations on track.

He expects chip supply to remain unpromising in May and June, and may improve in the third quarter. Changan's sales target for this year is 2.3 million units, with a minimum of 2.15 million units, "if there is no chip shortage problem, we can do a little more with our budget."

Analysts say China's smart car industry's 'Warring States Era' has just begun