The Second Seminar of 2021 China Automobile Market for Multinationals (hereinafter referred to as the Seminar) was held in Beijing on July 23, 2021. SIC’s Vice President Xu Changming and Chief Economist Zhu Baoliang attended the event and delivered their speeches respectively. Zhang Shuo, Senior Director-General of the European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association (ACEA) made an opening speech. Hosted by the Economic Consulting Center of the SIC and organized by ACEA, the seminar attracted participants from the government affairs department, strategic planning department, and marketing planning department of more than 10 major passenger vehicle producers including Daimler AG, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation, Volkswagen AG, General Electric Company, Ford Motor Company, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Hyundai Motor Company, Jaguar Land Rover Public Ltd., and Stellantis. Deputy Director-General Huang Luming of the Informatization and Industry Development, SIC presided over the Seminar.

Xu Changming shared a detailed analysis on China’s automobile market in the first half of the year, and predicted the market trend in the second half. He also focused on the competition in the passenger vehicle market as well as the development trend of new energy vehicles. Xu said, China’s automobile market in 2021 has exhibited some fluctuations, mainly due to the shortage of chips. A positive change in chip supply is anticipated in the latter half of the year, which will bring recovery to the automobile market to some extent, especially in the fourth quarter. The share of luxury brands is expected to rise, with a rebound of domestic brands and a decline of the joint-venture brands. The new energy vehicle market has experienced its rapid expansion since the latter half of 2020, and the pace of development remains fast this year. The domestic new energy vehicle market is anticipated to grow at a faster pace in the succeeding five years, with smart electric vehicles as its new growth point.

Zhu Baoliang introduced macro-economic performance at home in the first half of 2021 from the perspectives of long-term and short-term outlook, macro- and micro-economic data, quantity and structure, as well as domestic and international contexts. He mentioned that China has sustained economic recovery in the first half of 2021, however, the output gap remains big. Zhu pointed out that structural and import-related factors have led to the recent increase of local industrial product prices. The timely response from the government has eased the rising trend to some extent. In the latter half of 2021, domestic economy is expected to remain steady and grow at a fast rate. The growth in export and real estate investments will decline, while consumption will recover as a consequence of a series of consumption-promoting policies, thereby, leading the 14th Five-Year Plan to a good start.

The participants listened to the reports intently and engaged in in-depth interactions. Staff from the Economic Consulting Center of SIC attended the Seminar.