Shanghai (ZXZC)- On March 29, 2024, the China Automotive New Supply Chain Statistics Product Launch Conference, organized by the ZXZC Auto Research Institute ("GARI"), was successfully held in Shanghai.

At this event, GARI officially launched three sets of original database products: the "Passenger Vehicle Intelligent Driving Configuration Database," the "Passenger Vehicle Intelligent Cockpit Configuration Database," and the "Passenger Vehicle Electrification Configuration Database," along with relevant monthly market analysis reports.

Simultaneously, GARI initiated the "Supply Chain Database Product Co-creation Plan" aimed at industry and market partners, in a bid to assist the industry in innovation and development through data. The event received strong support from 22 media outlets, 11 securities firms, and 49 industry partners.

Welcome Address & Launch of Co-creation Plan on "China Automotive New Supply Chain Statistics Product"

At the beginning of the conference, CEO of ZXZC, Ms. Zhou Xiaoying, extended a warm welcome to all attendees. Ms. Zhou emphasized that the core mission of ZXZC is to "discover promising companies, promote innovative technologies, and empower automotive professionals." In recent years, ZXZC has organized multiple conferences and forums to help partners gain profound insights into the industry's development direction and identify emerging players, and also introduce cutting-edge technologies and outstanding talents into the industry through numerous training programs.

Ms Zhou Xiaoying, CEO of ZXZC

As China's new energy vehicle industry rapidly evolves, China’s domestic auto parts suppliers are gradually emerging as leaders in electrification and intelligence areas. Concurrently, the vertical supply chain is undergoing a transformation towards more interconnected and adaptable operation models characterized by a blurred boundary. The relation between automakers and suppliers is speeding up the shift towards collaborative, co-creative ecosystems. Ultimately, this convergence is expected to strike a new balance between ecosystem co-creation and traditional vertical supply.

Ms Zhou Xiaoying expressed that ZXZC aims to construct a supply chain data co-creation platform through the "Data Co-creation Plan," encouraging more partners to engage in data cross-validation and opportunity exploration. The initiative seeks to establish standardized data formats and functional definitions, so as to refine database product definitions. The statistics product launched today will primarily focus on increment data and emerging companies.

Simultaneously, ZXZC will initiate a "Resource Partner Recruitment" drive, seeking out standout enterprises in emerging sectors and uncovering exemplary cases of new technology applications. This endeavor aims to continuously expand the influence of data products, empower development across different domains, and cater to the needs of various industry ecosystems and investment institutions.

Intelligent Driving Development Goes into New Stage

Following China's release of the "Notice on the Pilot Work of Access and On-Road Communications for Intelligent Connected Vehicles" in November 2023, the 2024 version of C-NCAP (China New Car Assessment Programs) has undergone optimizations and upgrades in  existing scenarios based on the 2021 version. This also includes modifications and updates to testing parameters, as well as the addition of multiple active safety test projects, further elevating the importance of ADAS in vehicle safety.

Mr. Wang Xianbin, Senior Director of GARI, noted that with the refinement of regulations, there will be effective support for the development of the autonomous driving industry. Several leading automakers have successively announced the acquisition of licenses for conditional highway or expressway autonomous driving road tests. From an ecosystem perspective, rapid growth has been observed around software algorithms, high-performance chipsets, and ADAS suppliers. Market-wise, with the continuous maturity of driver assistance functions, cost reductions, and increased consumer acceptance, the L2 system has become the primary driver assistance solution. In 2023, the L2 (including L2+ and L2++) ADAS solution was applied in 3.7 million vehicles as standard equipment, representing a market penetration rate of over 51%. Notably, the rate for the models in the 200,000- to 500,000-yuan price range has exceeded 85%. In the future, car models priced below 100,000 yuan will also see growth in ADAS installation.

Regarding the "Passenger Vehicle Intelligent Driving Configuration Database," Wang Xianbin introduced that this database currently includes information on over 7,500 vehicle models, more than 70 intelligent driving configurations, and relevant suppliers. The data covers functionalities related to L0/L1/L2/L2+/L2++ ADAS systems, involving suppliers of cameras, millimeter-wave radars, LiDAR, high-precision maps, autonomous driving domain controllers, intelligent driving SoC, brake-by-wire system, steer-by-wire system, air suspension, etc. Additionally, ZXZC has launched the "Monthly Analysis Report on Passenger Vehicle Intelligent Driving Market," continuously contributing to the development of the intelligent driving domain.

Mr. Wang Xianbin,  Senior Director of ZXZC Auto Research Institute

Furthermore, Wang Xianbin stated that China's leading domestic automakers have hammered out multi-tier development approaches for intelligent driving technology solutions. He shared case studies and forward-looking predictions regarding the implementation of intelligent driving solutions by companies such as Tesla, Huawei, and XPENG, as well as the future development directions for the intelligent driving industry.

Outlook on the "Human-Car-Home" Intelligent Cockpit Ecosystem

Human-machine interaction, network services, and intelligent expansion have become the three key words for the development of intelligent cockpits. According to data from GARI, the current overall penetration rate of intelligent cockpits in China is close to 60%. Nearly 90% of users in China take intelligent cockpit configurations into consideration when purchasing a car, and over 60% of users express willingness to pay for cockpit functions.

Mr. Zhang Zhiwen, Deputy Director of GARI, stated that in the past two years, automobile manufacturers have highlighted the intelligent cockpit as a sales point that set their new cars apart from other products. The diversification of intelligent cockpit components has also led to a significant increase in penetration rates. To be specific, the penetration rates of the voice interaction and V2X (vehicle-to-everything) features in the cockpit both exceed 75%, while the rate of the central control screen has exceeded 90%. Meanwhile, with the increasing richness of cockpit functions, the penetration rates of cockpit domain controller, HUD, and DMS have also been lifted.

Regarding the "Passenger Vehicle Intelligent Cockpit Configuration Database," Zhang Zhiwen mentioned that this database has already included information on over 7,500 vehicle models, over 68 intelligent cockpit configurations, and relevant suppliers. It covers core functional configuration data of intelligent cockpits, and the industry is welcome to download and use the "Monthly Analysis Report on Passenger Vehicle Intelligent Cockpit Market."

Mr. Zhang Zhiwen,  Deputy Director of ZXZC Auto Research Institute

In the future, with the trend towards intelligence and networking, the boundary between mobile phones and in-car systems will become increasingly blurred. They are about to be merged to form a full-scenario closed-loop ecosystem based on a same operating system.

Zhang Zhiwen noted that the participation of such cross-industry players as Xiaomi EV and Huawei is accelerating the formation of the "Human-Car-Home" intelligent cockpit ecosystem.

High-Quality Development of Passenger Vehicle Electrification Industry Chain

In 2023, China's sales of new energy passenger vehicles totaled 8.97 million units, representing a penetration rate of 34.5%. Wang Jian, Senior Analyst at GARI, pointed out that the A00 and D car segments currently feature the highest penetration rate of new energy vehicles, while the penetration rate in the mainstream A and B car segments is still less than one-third. Therefore, these two segments still have substantial rooms for new energy vehicle sales to further climb.

Mr. Wang Jian,  Senior Analyst of ZXZC Auto Research Institute

Wang Jian said, in terms of price distribution, with the successive introduction of new energy vehicle models with prices comparable to oil-fueled vehicles in the similar segment, the new energy vehicles priced between 100,000 yuan and 150,000 yuan witnessed a rapid growth with over 2 million units sold in 2023. The market priced below 200,000 yuan will become an important segment. Furthermore, as competitively priced new energy vehicle models gain traction, cities in the third and below tiers are expected to see accelerated promotion of new energy vehicles. Wang Jian emphasized the importance of focusing on these lower-tier markets and urged companies to strategize their sales efforts accordingly.

Looking ahead, Wang Jian believes that the overseas market expansion and new energy vehicle development will help China's passenger vehicle market surpass the 30-million-unit mark by 2030. He added breakthroughs and challenges will emerge in power batteries, while electric drive system will continue to be optimized in performance, efficiency, and costs.

Regarding the "Passenger Vehicle Electrification Configuration Database," Wang Jian introduced that this database currently includes information related to over 2,000 vehicle models and more than 72 electrification configurations, as well as relevant suppliers. The Monthly Analysis Report on Passenger Vehicle Electrification Market will also contribute to the development of electrification in the passenger vehicle market.

GARI is committed to becoming a leading think tank in the automotive industry, focusing on offering in-depth insights into the intelligent automotive industry chain and continuously providing comprehensive research results and systematic industrial data resources to assist industry users in making informed business decisions.

In addition to the welcome speech and certain subject sharing, this event also featured a Q&A session where experts from GARI addressed hot topics in the industry such as intelligence and electrification. The purpose of this event is to jointly build the automotive new supply chain database with partners based on the service platform provided by GARI, to grasp the trend of industry development in real time, and to help more industry partners, investment institutions, and media professionals understand the automotive industry, thereby contributing to the construction of China's automotive supply chain ecosystem.