26 Jun State of China’s Auto Market – June 2026
Written by Bill Russo, Founder & CEO of Automobility Ltd.
I’d like to begin by highlighting a recent conversation I had with John McElroy on Autoline Exclusives. John is one of the most respected journalists and commentators in the global automotive industry, and for decades Autoline has been a trusted platform for executives, policymakers, suppliers, and enthusiasts seeking informed analysis of the forces shaping the future of mobility. I was thrilled to join John for a discussion on the profound transformation taking place in China’s automotive sector and what it means for the rest of the world.
Industry Interviews – Autoline
During our conversation, I argued that China is no longer catching up to the global auto industry—it is increasingly setting the pace. Chinese automakers have successfully scaled not only electric vehicles but also intelligent, connected vehicles that integrate software, AI, and digital ecosystems as core elements of the customer experience. We discussed how the competitive battleground is shifting from mechanical engineering to software capability, user experience, and ecosystem orchestration; why “China speed” is redefining product development cycles; and how vehicles are evolving from transportation products into smart devices on wheels. The central message is that the future of automotive competition will be determined less by horsepower and more by compute power, connectivity, and the ability to create recurring value throughout the ownership lifecycle.
Key Headlines Summary through May 2026
📉 China’s domestic auto market has entered a normalization phase, exposing the limits of subsidy-driven demand and revealing a slower-growth reality.
⚡ The EV transition is now self-sustaining, with NEVs approaching 60% share despite softer consumer demand and reduced policy support.
🌍 Exports—not domestic sales—have become China’s primary automotive growth engine, increasingly determining industry utilization, scale, and profitability.
🏭 China’s auto industry is transforming from a domestic growth story into a global supply platform, with overseas markets absorbing excess capacity from a maturing home market.
🧠 Competition is shifting from electrification to intelligence, as smart EV ecosystems increasingly differentiate winners from losers.
🏁 Chinese brands are winning the structural transition, dominating NEVs while foreign OEMs remain concentrated in declining ICE segments.
♻️ Market maturity is becoming visible through the rise of used vehicles, which are proving more resilient than new vehicle sales in a weaker demand environment.
🚀 China’s automotive future is increasingly defined by exports, software, and ecosystem scale—not by domestic volume growth.
China’s Auto Market Stabilizes, but the Industry’s Center of Gravity Continues to Shift
China’s auto market showed signs of stabilization through May 2026, but the underlying story remains one of structural transformation rather than cyclical recovery. After a sharp early-year adjustment driven by subsidy normalization and difficult year-over-year comparisons, shipment declines moderated and NEV demand reaccelerated. Yet domestic passenger vehicle demand remains noticeably weaker than a year ago, suggesting that the industry has entered a more mature, demand-constrained phase where growth can no longer be taken for granted. The post-subsidy environment has exposed greater consumer price sensitivity, particularly in mass-market segments, while used vehicle sales have proven more resilient as buyers increasingly prioritize value.
At the same time, the forces reshaping the industry continue to strengthen. Electrification has moved beyond policy dependence, with NEVs reaching nearly 57% of vehicle shipments and more than 60% of passenger vehicle sales in May, underscoring the durability of China’s transition away from ICE vehicles. Exports have become the industry’s primary growth engine, reaching new record levels and accounting for more than one-third of total shipments as global markets increasingly absorb Chinese production. As a result, China’s automotive industry is evolving from a domestic growth story into an export-led, technology-driven ecosystem where competitive advantage is increasingly determined by software capability, ecosystem integration, global reach, and scale. The market is no longer simply transitioning from ICE to EV—it is transitioning from volume growth to structural competition.
Exports and Electrification Sustain China’s Auto Market
China’s auto market showed signs of stabilization through May 2026 following a sharp early-year adjustment triggered by subsidy normalization and exceptionally strong late-2025 comparisons. Industry shipments remained down 4.2% year-over-year through the first five months, but conditions improved noticeably from the February trough as NEV growth returned to positive territory (+3.5%) and commercial vehicles continued to outperform. While domestic passenger vehicle demand remains soft, the data increasingly suggests the market is transitioning toward a more sustainable operating level rather than entering a prolonged contraction.
The moderation continues to reflect a combination of policy normalization, weaker consumer demand, and payback from the late-2025 incentive pull-forward, but the industry’s underlying structure remains resilient. Commercial vehicle shipments grew 7.8%, supported by infrastructure activity, logistics demand, and industrial production, while exports continued to provide a critical utilization buffer. The result is a market increasingly characterized by divergent performance between domestic retail demand and production activity, with exports playing a growing role in balancing capacity and sustaining scale.
Electrification remains the industry’s primary structural growth engine. After a weak start to the year, NEV shipments rebounded to positive growth (+3.5% YoY) through May while ICE volumes declined 10.3%, widening the gap between legacy and electrified powertrains. NEV penetration reached record levels in May, approaching 57% of total vehicle shipments and more than 60% of passenger vehicle sales, reinforcing that China’s transition toward intelligent electric mobility remains intact despite softer headline demand. Increasingly, the industry’s growth story is being driven not by domestic volume expansion alone, but by the combined forces of electrification, exports, and intensifying competition within China’s rapidly evolving smart vehicle ecosystem.
China’s auto market showed further signs of stabilization through May 2026 as the sharp adjustment that followed the late-2025 subsidy pull-forward began to moderate. Passenger vehicle shipments remained under pressure, declining 4.2% year-over-year in May, but industry volumes improved sequentially from the February low and remained supported by stronger commercial vehicle demand. The data increasingly suggests that the market has moved beyond the most severe phase of policy normalization and is settling into a more sustainable operating environment, albeit at a slower pace than the subsidy-supported expansion seen in 2025.
The first five months of 2026 reveal a clear divergence in market performance. Passenger vehicle demand continues to reflect cautious consumer sentiment and heightened price sensitivity, while commercial vehicle shipments accelerated 12.2% year-over-year, supported by infrastructure activity, logistics demand, industrial production, and export-related freight movement. This divergence highlights the growing importance of commercial activity and manufacturing output in sustaining overall industry volumes as consumer demand remains uneven.
At the same time, overall shipment levels remain structurally elevated relative to pre-2023 norms. Export demand continues to provide a critical stabilizing force for manufacturers, helping sustain capacity utilization and offset softer domestic passenger vehicle conditions. Combined with the continued expansion of NEVs, exports are increasingly reshaping the industry’s operating model and reducing dependence on domestic demand alone.
Overall, the May data reinforces that China’s auto industry is undergoing a policy-driven normalization rather than a structural downturn. The market appears to be finding a floor after the early-year adjustment, with commercial vehicles, exports, and electrification providing support while domestic passenger vehicle demand gradually adjusts to a post-subsidy environment.
A two-year comparison makes the direction of China’s automotive transformation increasingly clear. Comparing 2024 [1-5] with 2026 [1-5], total vehicle shipments remain elevated despite softer domestic demand and the post-subsidy market adjustment. While passenger vehicle volumes have moderated from the 2025 peak, commercial vehicle shipments have continued to expand, reflecting stronger logistics activity, infrastructure demand, industrial production, and export-related freight movement. The result is an industry operating at historically high levels, but with a very different composition than just two years ago.
The most significant shift is occurring beneath the headline volume numbers. ICE domestic sales have declined sharply from 5.8 million to 4.2 million units, while NEV domestic sales have increased from 3.4 million to 4.0 million units, pushing electrification deeper into the mainstream despite softer consumer demand. At the same time, exports have become a far more important pillar of industry scale. ICE exports have increased from 1.8 million to 2.2 million units, while NEV exports have more than tripled from 519,000 to 1.8 million units, underscoring the growing role of overseas markets in sustaining production and utilization.
The comparison highlights that China’s auto industry is no longer being driven primarily by domestic demand. Instead, growth is increasingly supported by a combination of electrification, export expansion, and global market integration. As domestic demand matures, exports and NEVs are becoming the industry’s principal sources of incremental growth, reinforcing China’s evolution from a domestic volume story into a globally connected automotive production and technology ecosystem.
Exports Become China’s Auto Industry Growth Engine
China’s automotive industry continued its transition toward an export-driven operating model through May 2026, with exports reaching a new record of approximately 930,000 units and accounting for 35.4% of total vehicle shipments. While domestic demand remains uneven, the sustained strength of exports demonstrates that overseas markets are no longer simply absorbing excess capacity—they have become a core pillar supporting industry scale, utilization, and growth. The fact that export share remained above 35% for a second consecutive month suggests this shift is becoming structural rather than cyclical.
The divergence between domestic and export demand highlights a fundamental evolution in China’s automotive ecosystem. Domestic shipments improved modestly in May but remained well below late-2025 levels, while export volumes continued setting new highs. This underscores how manufacturers are becoming increasingly reliant on global markets to sustain production scale and offset slower growth at home. What began as a mechanism to manage overcapacity has evolved into a broader internationalization strategy that is reshaping industry economics.
The growing importance of exports extends beyond volume support. Overseas markets typically offer less intense competition, stronger pricing power, and higher margins than China’s hypercompetitive domestic market, allowing OEMs to improve profitability while maintaining factory utilization. At the same time, rising exports across both ICE and NEV segments demonstrate growing global acceptance of Chinese vehicles and technologies. Increasingly, China’s automotive industry is evolving into a globally integrated production system where exports serve a dual role: stabilizing industry volume while strengthening long-term competitiveness and global market positioning.
China’s auto exports continued to accelerate through May 2026, surpassing 4.0 million units (+63% YoY) and further cementing exports as one of the industry’s primary growth engines. At the same time, the export mix continues shifting rapidly toward electrification, with NEVs now accounting for 45% of total vehicle exports, up from just 15% in 2021. The data highlights how China’s export competitiveness is evolving beyond manufacturing scale and cost advantage toward technology-led leadership in electrified and intelligent vehicles.
While ICE vehicles still account for the majority of export volume at 2.23 million units, NEV exports reached 1.83 million units through May and continue to grow significantly faster. This reflects a broader transition from exports as a utilization strategy toward a model centered on global market share expansion, higher-value product mix, and long-term ecosystem positioning. Increasingly, Chinese OEMs are leveraging overseas markets not only to sustain scale, but also to access regions with stronger pricing power and less intense competitive pressure than China’s domestic market.
Export leadership is also becoming more broadly distributed across the industry. Chery remains China’s largest exporter, but BYD, Geely, SAIC, and Chang’an are rapidly expanding their global footprint, while Tesla continues to play an important role through its Shanghai manufacturing base. The widening group of internationally competitive OEMs demonstrates that export capability is becoming a core strategic requirement rather than a niche advantage.
Viewed structurally, China’s export story is no longer simply about absorbing excess capacity. The industry is increasingly integrating itself into the global automotive value chain as a major supplier of both ICE and NEV products. As NEV exports approach half of total overseas shipments, China’s long-term export competitiveness is progressively shifting from manufacturing scale alone toward a combination of technology leadership, ecosystem capability, and global market reach.
China’s automotive export expansion is becoming increasingly diversified and less dependent on any single destination market. Through the first five months of 2026, Brazil has overtaken Russia as China’s largest export market, reaching approximately 295,000 units (+215% YoY) compared with Russia’s 270,000 units (+104% YoY). The shift is significant because it demonstrates that China’s export momentum is no longer concentrated in Russia-related demand but is increasingly supported by a broader mix of Latin American, European, and emerging-market destinations.
The composition of export growth is changing rapidly. Europe continues to gain importance despite regulatory and tariff headwinds, with the UK, Belgium, Italy, and Spain all posting strong growth and collectively representing a larger market opportunity than any single destination outside Brazil and Russia. At the same time, Algeria’s 380% growth and strong performance across several emerging markets highlight how Chinese OEMs are expanding beyond their initial export strongholds and building a more geographically diversified global footprint.
The data also reflects the growing influence of geopolitics and regional instability on export flows. Mexico (-37%) remains under pressure from trade uncertainty, North American industrial policy, and tariff concerns, while UAE (-14%) has weakened and Saudi Arabia has fallen out of the Top 10 rankings altogether, likely reflecting the disruption and uncertainty created by the Iran conflict and broader Middle East regional tensions. These developments illustrate that export growth is increasingly shaped not only by product competitiveness but also by geopolitical alignment, trade policy, and regional stability.
Viewed structurally, China’s export engine is evolving from a concentrated overflow channel into a globally distributed operating model. The rise of Brazil, the strengthening of Europe, the expansion into Africa, and the relative decline of Mexico and parts of the Middle East suggest that Chinese OEMs are becoming more sophisticated in balancing regulatory exposure, geopolitical risk, and market opportunity. The result is a more resilient export ecosystem that is less dependent on any single market and increasingly capable of sustaining long-term global growth.
China’s Auto Market Remains Soft, but NEVs Continue Gaining Share
China’s domestic auto market remained under pressure through May 2026, with total vehicle sales declining 20.5% year-over-year as the industry continued adjusting to the exceptionally strong, subsidy-supported demand environment of late 2025. The data reinforces that China’s market has entered a more mature phase characterized by slower volume growth, greater consumer price sensitivity, and increasing reliance on replacement demand rather than first-time purchases. While the overall market remains soft, the pace of decline appears increasingly tied to policy normalization and cyclical demand weakness rather than any deterioration in the industry’s long-term fundamentals.
Importantly, the slowdown remains highly uneven across powertrains. ICE sales declined 23.8%, significantly worse than the overall market, while NEV sales fell a more modest 16.5%, allowing electrified vehicles to continue gaining share despite weaker demand conditions. This highlights a critical shift in market dynamics: electrification is no longer benefiting from rapid market expansion but is instead taking share within a constrained demand environment. Even in a weaker market, consumers continue migrating away from ICE vehicles toward electrified alternatives.
The long-term structural trajectory remains intact. Since 2021, NEV volumes have expanded dramatically while ICE demand has steadily eroded, culminating in near-parity between the two segments by 2025. Through May 2026, NEVs accounted for nearly half of total vehicle sales and continued outperforming ICE vehicles despite the broader market slowdown. The data suggests that China’s transition toward electrified mobility has become increasingly self-sustaining and less dependent on policy support than in earlier stages of adoption.
The implications for the industry’s operating model continue to deepen. With domestic demand stabilizing at a lower baseline, growth and profitability are increasingly being driven by mix improvement, software and feature monetization, exports, and manufacturing utilization discipline rather than pure volume expansion. China’s auto market is no longer primarily a story of demand growth—it is becoming a story of structural replacement, electrification-led share gains, and global scale optimization.
China’s passenger vehicle market remains soft in absolute terms, but the May data reinforces that electrification continues to accelerate despite weaker consumer demand. After falling to 39% in January amid subsidy normalization and seasonal disruptions, NEV penetration climbed steadily to 63% in May, exceeding 60% for a second consecutive month. The data confirms that China’s passenger vehicle market has firmly crossed into majority-NEV territory even as overall market demand remains below 2025 levels.
The key story is not a rebound in volume, but a continued shift away from ICE vehicles. NEVs are capturing a growing share of a constrained market, demonstrating that electrification has become increasingly self-sustaining and less dependent on policy support. As penetration approaches two-thirds of passenger vehicle sales, competition is increasingly shifting from EV adoption itself toward software, intelligent features, ecosystem integration, and brand differentiation within a majority-NEV market.
Technology-Centric Automakers Gain Ground in China’s EV Market
China’s EV market continues to become more competitive as growth increasingly shifts from electrification itself to competition within a majority-NEV market. BYD remains the clear leader at roughly 21% market share, but the competitive landscape is becoming progressively more fragmented as Geely consolidates its #2 position and challengers such as Leapmotor, HIMA, Xiaomi, Li Auto, and NIO compete aggressively for share. The data suggests that market leadership is no longer determined solely by scale and manufacturing capacity, but increasingly by software capability, intelligent features, ecosystem integration, and speed of product innovation.
What stands out is the growing influence of technology- and ecosystem-driven competitors. Leapmotor has emerged as one of the fastest-rising players, while HIMA, Xiaomi, and Li Auto continue strengthening their positions through differentiated user experiences and software-centric value propositions. Rather than one dominant player pulling away from the field, China’s EV market is evolving into a multi-polar competitive environment where leadership can shift rapidly and competitive advantage increasingly depends on technology integration, ecosystem strength, and execution speed. The result is a market that is becoming more dynamic, more fragmented, and more innovation-driven as the industry enters its next phase of competition.
China’s passenger vehicle market is becoming increasingly polarized as the industry separates into two distinct competitive ecosystems: a shrinking foreign-led ICE market and a larger, domestic-led NEV market. Through May 2026, NEV volume has surpassed ICE volume, marking a significant structural milestone in the industry’s transition. Foreign OEMs continue to dominate ICE leadership positions led by VW and Toyota, while Chinese brands overwhelmingly control the NEV competitive landscape, highlighting how limited the overlap has become between the two markets.
What stands out is how few players remain competitive across both ecosystems. Geely, Chang’an, and SAIC are the only OEMs ranked among the Top 10 in both ICE and NEV segments, underscoring the strategic value of maintaining diversified portfolios during this transition period. Most foreign OEMs remain concentrated in the structurally declining ICE market, while domestic players increasingly dominate the larger and faster-evolving NEV arena. The fact that the NEV pie is now larger than the ICE pie illustrates how China’s passenger vehicle market has moved beyond an electrification transition and into a new competitive phase where leadership is increasingly determined by success in the NEV ecosystem rather than legacy ICE scale.
The broader implication is that China no longer has a single passenger vehicle market—it effectively has two. One remains anchored by traditional foreign OEM strengths in ICE, while the other is defined by domestic competition in software-defined, intelligent electric vehicles. As the NEV market continues to expand relative to ICE, competitive advantage will increasingly accrue to companies capable of competing effectively in both ecosystems rather than relying on legacy leadership in either one alone.
The result is a market where the real divide is no longer simply ICE versus NEV, but relevance versus obsolescence. OEMs with scale, diversified portfolios, and the ability to compete across both ICE and NEV ecosystems are proving far more resilient as demand growth slows and competition intensifies. The fact that Geely, Chang’an, and SAIC are among the only Top 10 players in both ICE and NEV segments highlights the growing strategic value of balanced portfolios. As the market matures, competitive advantage is increasingly shifting from participation in electrification alone toward the ability to manage multiple powertrains, customer segments, and global markets simultaneously.
Within NEVs, leadership is becoming increasingly fragmented rather than concentrated. BYD remains the clear market leader, but the larger story is the emergence of a broad field of challengers including Geely, HIMA, Xiaomi, Leapmotor, Li Auto, NIO, and Tesla. As NEVs now represent the larger portion of China’s passenger vehicle market, competition is increasingly centered on software capability, ecosystem integration, intelligent features, user experience, and product-cycle speed rather than electrification itself. Meanwhile, the ICE market remains comparatively stable but structurally shrinking, with foreign OEMs largely defending a declining legacy profit pool.
The competitive battleground is shifting from powertrain choice to ecosystem strength, technology leadership, and execution speed. In this new environment, the winners are likely to be those capable of competing across multiple domains, while those anchored to a single market segment face growing concentration risk as industry leadership continues to evolve.
Chinese Brands Extend Leadership as Foreign OEM Pressures Deepen
China’s passenger vehicle market weakness in 2026 is reinforcing—not reversing—the structural shift toward domestic OEM dominance. Chinese brands expanded their share to 71% through May, the highest level on record, demonstrating greater resilience as consumer demand increasingly gravitates toward electrification, intelligent features, and value-oriented offerings. The data suggests the competitive transition has moved beyond a cyclical phase and become deeply structural, with domestic OEMs now firmly controlling the industry’s growth segments.
What stands out is not growth, but relative performance. While volumes declined across most major brand origins, German OEMs remained under the greatest pressure (-24.9%), reflecting continued exposure to shrinking ICE segments and slower competitiveness in China’s rapidly evolving NEV market. Japanese OEMs proved somewhat more resilient (-14.1%), helped largely by Toyota’s recent adaptation to electrification, while positive U.S. brand performance remained heavily dependent on cyclical recovery from a low base. The widening performance gap highlights how closely competitive outcomes are now tied to success in China’s NEV ecosystem.
The implication is that China’s competitive advantage is becoming increasingly structural rather than cyclical. Domestic OEMs are not simply benefiting from policy support—they are proving more aligned with consumer preferences around software, connectivity, electrification, and pricing. Meanwhile, many foreign OEMs remain concentrated in declining ICE segments while lacking meaningful scale in China’s smart EV landscape.
Overall, the May data suggests China’s market slowdown is not redistributing leadership—it is reinforcing it. The industry is becoming increasingly polarized between domestic players positioned around electrification and intelligent vehicles, and foreign OEMs that remain disproportionately exposed to structurally weakening ICE demand. As Chinese brands surpass 70% share, the question is no longer whether domestic OEMs have taken leadership, but whether foreign OEMs can establish a meaningful position in the larger and faster-growing NEV market.
May 2026 reinforces a symbolic but increasingly important shift in China’s passenger vehicle market: Geely has not only overtaken VW but expanded its lead, highlighting how the industry’s center of gravity continues moving toward domestic OEMs. Geely’s advantage reflects the growing value of balanced portfolios capable of competing across both ICE and NEV segments, while BYD continues leveraging its leadership in electrification. Together, the rankings underscore how Chinese manufacturers are increasingly defining market leadership as the industry transitions from an ICE-dominated era to a majority-NEV market.
What stands out is the divergence in competitive positioning. Geely, BYD, SAIC, Chang’an, and Chery benefit from varying combinations of electrification, portfolio diversification, and export support, while traditional foreign OEMs remain heavily exposed to structurally declining ICE demand. VW and Toyota continue to hold strong positions, but their competitive advantage is increasingly concentrated in shrinking ICE segments rather than the industry’s primary growth areas. The result is a widening gap between companies aligned with China’s evolving market structure and those still dependent on legacy product portfolios.
The rankings also highlight a broader convergence underway. Competition is no longer neatly divided between ICE incumbents and NEV challengers. Instead, leadership increasingly depends on the ability to compete across multiple technologies, price bands, and customer segments simultaneously. OEMs with diversified portfolios and strong execution across both ICE and NEV ecosystems are proving more resilient, while narrower players face greater volatility as market conditions shift.
Conclusion: China’s Auto Industry Has Entered a New Competitive Era
The first five months of 2026 make one thing unmistakably clear: China’s automotive transformation is no longer about electrification—it is about competitive survival within an electrified market. The debate over whether EVs will win is over. NEVs now account for nearly 60% of vehicle shipments, more than 60% of passenger vehicle sales, and have surpassed ICE volumes in China’s passenger vehicle market. The transition has been decided. What remains unresolved is who will emerge as the long-term winners.
At the same time, the foundations of industry growth have fundamentally changed. Exports have evolved from a capacity-relief mechanism into the industry’s primary growth engine, supporting utilization, scale, and increasingly profitability. Domestic demand remains soft and more price-sensitive than during the subsidy-driven expansion of recent years, but the industry’s operating model is becoming less dependent on domestic volume growth alone. China is no longer merely the world’s largest automotive market—it is becoming the world’s most important automotive production, technology, and export platform.
The competitive landscape is also being reordered at unprecedented speed. Leadership is shifting away from legacy scale and toward adaptability. Geely’s rise to the top of the passenger vehicle rankings, the growing influence of HIMA, Xiaomi, Leapmotor, and other software-centric challengers, and the continued erosion of foreign OEM market share all point to the same conclusion: competitive advantage increasingly comes from ecosystem strength, software capability, product-cycle speed, and the ability to compete across multiple powertrain and market segments simultaneously. The gap between leaders and laggards is widening.
Perhaps most importantly, China’s market is no longer converging—it is bifurcating. Foreign OEMs remain concentrated in a shrinking ICE ecosystem, while domestic players dominate the larger and faster-growing NEV market. Only a handful of companies have successfully established relevance in both worlds. The result is a market that is simultaneously more mature, more fragmented, and more unforgiving than at any point in its modern history.
The key question for the next phase is no longer whether the industry can grow. The question is which companies can sustain relevance, profitability, and global scale in a market where competition is intensifying, exports are becoming indispensable, and technological differentiation matters more than manufacturing scale alone. China’s automotive industry has entered a new era—one defined not by the transition to electrification, but by the relentless competition that follows it.
AmCham Shanghai State of China Auto Market Monthly Webinar [June 18]
The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai ‘s Automotive Committee invites you to our Monthly State of China’s Automotive Industry webinar on Thursday, June 18, from 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm, to be held via Zoom Meeting.
We will provide updated information on sales results through May. We will also share our observations of other major trends in the auto industry.
This event is held virtually. A Zoom link will be provided via email once registration is completed.
Webinar | State of China Auto Market Monthly Briefing (June) | AmCham Shanghai
Best of Belron – Lisbon [June 24]
I’m honored to be delivering a keynote speech the Best of Belron Global Client Conference in Lisbon on June 24–25, alongside leaders from across the automotive, insurance, mobility, and technology sectors. I’ll be sharing perspectives on the rapid transformation of the global automotive industry, including the rise of smart connected vehicles, China’s growing influence on innovation, and the implications of AI and autonomous technologies for the future of mobility. The event brings together Belron’s global partners and industry experts to explore the trends shaping the next decade of transportation.
MAY EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS
May was an exceptionally active month, with speaking engagements across Mexico and Asia focused on the accelerating transformation of the global automotive industry.
BNP Paribas Global EV & Mobility Conference – Hong Kong
On May 19, I had the privilege of returning to Hong Kong for the third consecutive year to deliver the keynote address at BNP Paribas’ Global EV & Mobility Conference. My presentation, “China’s Auto Industry in 2026: Navigating the Epicenter of Automotive Industry Transformation,” examined how China continues to redefine the future of mobility through electrification, connectivity, software integration, artificial intelligence, and autonomous technologies.
The central message was that the automotive industry’s transformation extends well beyond the shift to electric vehicles. The real competitive battleground is increasingly centered on software-defined vehicles, intelligent mobility ecosystems, and the ability to rapidly integrate new technologies into compelling customer experiences. As China continues to accelerate innovation and scale, OEMs, suppliers, investors, and policymakers around the world must adapt to a new reality in which speed, ecosystem integration, and digital capabilities are becoming the primary drivers of competitive advantage.
Global Transportation & Innovation Summit – Monterrey, Mexico
On May 27, I delivered the keynote at the Global Transportation & Innovation Summit in Monterrey, Mexico, followed by discussions with Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers at the Cluster Automotriz de Nuevo León (CLAUT), one of Latin America’s most influential automotive industry organizations. The central message was that the industry’s transformation is not fundamentally about electrification—it is about digitalization. As vehicles evolve into connected, software-defined devices, the basis of competition is shifting from traditional mechanical engineering toward software, ecosystem integration, user experience, data, and continuous innovation. We explored how China’s rise is being driven not by low-cost manufacturing, but by its ability to innovate rapidly, scale ecosystems, and integrate hardware, software, AI, and services into compelling customer experiences.
EMA – Electro Movilidad Asociación – Mexico City, Mexico
I also had the opportunity to speak on May 25 in Mexico City at EMA – Electro Movilidad Asociación, Mexico’s leading e-mobility industry association. My presentation, “China Going Global: Navigating the Epicenter of Global Industry Transformation,” examined how China has become the center of gravity for the global automotive transformation and what that means for Mexico, North America, and the future competitive landscape. Discussions focused on the industry’s evolution beyond electrification toward intelligent, connected, software-defined mobility ecosystems, where speed, scale, software capability, and ecosystem integration are becoming the primary sources of competitive advantage. The strong engagement from industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders reinforced the growing recognition that Mexico has a significant opportunity to play a strategic role in the next era of automotive transformation.
Across all events, one theme consistently resonated: the future winners will not be determined by who builds the best hardware alone, but by who can successfully integrate software, connectivity, AI, and ecosystem partnerships into a seamless mobility experience. The industry is transitioning from selling vehicles to delivering intelligent mobility platforms, and organizations that adapt quickly to this new reality will be best positioned to succeed.
A Conversation with Bill Russo on China’s EV Revolution and the Future of Intelligent Mobility
Linkedin Pulse, May 8
In a recent interview I shared our perspective on China’s EV revolution and the future of intelligent mobility. A key theme of the conversation was that the industry’s transformation extends beyond electrification to the emergence of software-defined, connected vehicles and mobility ecosystems powered by AI, data, and digital services.
The discussion also examined how China’s leadership position has been built through long-term investment in batteries, charging infrastructure, and technology development, as well as the intense domestic competition that continues to accelerate innovation. As the industry evolves, success will increasingly depend on software capabilities, ecosystem integration, and the ability to adapt to new forms of mobility.
🎙️ Catch up on the latest episodes of the Auto Insider Podcast hosted by Bill Russo, featuring insights from the front lines of China’s mobility transformation — where speed, scale, and strategy are redefining global competition.
🌏 Episode #6: From Tier-1 to System Architect: Aptiv at China Speed, Global Scale with Simon Yang,President, China & Asia Pacific, Aptiv
🌏 Episode #5: Safety Without Borders: How Autoliv Drives Scaled Collaboration in the Smart Mobility Era with Sng Yih, President, Autoliv China
🌏 Episode #4: Leapmotor’s Global Leap — A New Paradigm for Global EV Collaboration with Michael Wu, Co-President, Leapmotor
🚗 Episode #3: Competing at China Speed: A Tier-1 Perspective from Magna with Zhen Wu, President of Magna China
🦋 Episode #2: The Butterfly Effect—How China’s Auto Shift is Reshaping the World with Dr. Xiaozhi Liu, Founder and CEO of ASL Automotive, Former CEO of Fuyao Glass
🔧 Episode #1: Smart EVs and the Smart Tier 0.5 Supply Chain with Jack Cheng , Co-Founder of NIO and CEO of M-Mobility
We’re just getting started — more conversations coming soon with the visionaries shaping the future of mobility.
You can follow us for regular updates on these online channels by scanning the QR codes:
If your organization would like a custom briefing on the State of China’s Auto Market, please reach out to us at info@automobility.io
About Bill Russo
Bill is a contributing author to the book Selling to China: Stories of Success, Failure, and Constant Change (2023), where he describes how China has become the most commercially innovative place to do business in the world’s auto industry – and why those hoping to compete globally must continue to be in the market.
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