Chongqing, China – September 04, 2026 -- Chinese automakers are shifting from scale-driven growth to quality-led transformation, with Leapmotor disclosing it now manufactures more than 65 percent of its core vehicle parts in-house across 18 "super factories," according to statements made at the 2026 Automotive New Quality Productive Force Development Forum held in Chongqing's Jiulongpo District.
Leapmotor builds closed-loop production to control costs and quality
Cao Li, senior vice president of Leapmotor, said full-domain self-reliant research and manufacturing has allowed the company to keep quality, cost and iteration efficiency under direct control, reducing exposure to homogeneous competition across China's crowded EV sector.
GAC Group cites 20 years of R&D behind three powertrain technology series
Wu Jian, a member of GAC Group's strategy committee, said the automaker has developed three distinct powertrain technology series covering range-extended, plug-in hybrid and hybrid electric vehicles after two decades of independent research. Wu argued that overseas powertrain routes face limitations in intelligent adaptation, requiring China-specific engineering that integrates more tightly with vehicle intelligence systems.
Changan Automobile targets user trust gap in intelligent driving
He Gang, vice president of Changan Automobile, pointed to a persistent industry problem: high adoption of intelligent driving features alongside low user trust. The Chongqing-based manufacturer is using an all-weather dark-room laboratory and world models for smart driving to improve stability under extreme conditions and enable earlier detection of hazardous obstacles as part of a three-pronged safety system.
Seres and Bosch outline safety and globalization priorities
He Liyang, president of Seres, said the company's development has been anchored in safety and performance principles. Wu Yongqiao, president of Bosch's intelligent driving and control system division in China, said the company is aligning local smart-driving innovation with overseas regulatory requirements to support the international expansion of Chinese automakers.
Smaller players target niche AI and safety applications
Tang Guomei, deputy president of Sevnce Robotics, said the company is focused on resolving security challenges in specialized operational scenarios. Yang Mu, CTO of Chongqing Afari Technology, said the firm is combining large language models with intelligent driving models to strengthen scene understanding, logical reasoning and risk prediction in autonomous systems.
The forum was organized by China Economic Information Service and China Certification & Inspection Group in Chongqing, a city positioning itself as a high-end player in the global auto value chain amid rising domestic EV output and intelligent driving penetration.