China News Service, June 23. The State Council Information Office held a press conference on the 23rd to introduce the situation regarding the expansion of automobile consumption across the entire chain and answer reporters’ questions.
At the meeting, Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping stated that the automotive industry is a strategic and pillar industry of the national economy, and an important area for expanding consumption, stabilizing investment, and benefiting people’s livelihoods. From a consumption perspective, retail sales of automotive goods account for about 10% of total retail sales of consumer goods; from an investment and export perspective, the automotive industry accounts for about 6% of manufacturing investment, and automobiles and parts account for about 6% of goods trade exports. As of now, China’s car ownership has reached 370 million vehicles, and car sales have ranked first globally for 17 consecutive years, making it a veritable automotive powerhouse.
In recent years, on the basis of becoming the world’s largest automobile consumer market, China has also successively achieved the first place in the production and sales of new energy vehicles, the first place in total automobile exports, and the first place in global sales of Chinese auto companies. Automobiles have become a hot spot in the consumer market, a key area for foreign investment, and a highlight of foreign trade.
Sheng Qiuping introduced that with the continuous improvement of China’s economic and social development and residents’ living standards, automobile circulation and consumption are showing new trends and changes. Automobiles are rapidly expanding from a single means of transportation to an “intelligent mobile living space,” and the automotive aftermarket spawned by car use contains huge development potential. This time, the Ministry of Commerce, together with relevant departments, issued the “Notice on Several Measures to Cultivate and Expand Automotive Aftermarket Consumption,” supporting localities in carrying out pilot reforms for automobile circulation and consumption. On the one hand, this is to deeply implement the deployment requirements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council to vigorously boost consumption and accelerate the cultivation of new growth points for service consumption. On the other hand, it also conforms to the trend of change in the automotive market, adhering to both policy support and reform and innovation to further activate consumption momentum. The policy document and the list of pilot cities were officially released today.
The overall work measures are reflected in three aspects:
First, there is both unified deployment and pilot initiatives. In terms of unified deployment, the national level has issued special policies, proposing a series of countermeasures and measures targeting issues such as imperfect management systems, incomplete standard systems, and insufficient high-quality supply in aftermarket areas including car modification, car racing, RV camping, car repair, car rental, and classic cars. In terms of pilot initiatives, pilot reforms for automobile circulation and consumption are being carried out. Through an “open competition” approach, 40 pilot cities have been selected nationwide based on merit, supporting localities in focusing on the automotive aftermarket, as well as links such as new car consumption, used car circulation, and scrapped car recycling, targeting shortcomings and bottlenecks, reforming and innovating according to local conditions, and piloting first, to promote the formation of pilot results with distinctive characteristics.
Second, it focuses both on revitalizing existing stock and on optimizing incremental growth. In terms of revitalizing existing stock, pilot cities are supported in relying on existing facilities such as complete vehicle enterprises, automobile markets, racing tracks, and cultural and creative parks to innovatively create new scenarios, new formats, and new models for automobile consumption, improving resource utilization efficiency. For example, international consumption center cities like Shanghai and Tianjin make good use of international racing track resources, actively organize well-known domestic and international car races, and jointly hold consumption promotion activities integrating business, travel, culture, sports, and health. In terms of optimizing incremental growth, pilot cities such as Hangzhou and Shenzhen are guided to explore optimizing car purchase restrictions to meet potential car purchase demand. Pilot cities are supported in utilizing convenient conditions such as pilot free trade zones and comprehensive bonded zones to explore activities like bonded car modification, “bonded + exhibition” of classic cars, and car rental, to expand and strengthen characteristic industries. For example, Xiong’an New Area, based on its primary positioning of relieving Beijing’s non-capital functions, innovatively develops car rental, supporting relocated enterprises to purchase new cars in bulk and provide them to employees for use in the form of leases, meeting employees’ car usage needs for commuting between Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei.
Third, it is necessary both to “manage well” and to promote “liberalization.” Deepen the transformation of automobile consumption from purchase management to usage management. For areas where conditions permit, such as used car transactions, RV camping, and pickup trucks entering cities, we will work with relevant departments to accelerate the relaxation of restrictions, while simultaneously following up to improve relevant systems and rules. In terms of “managing well,” the national level issues policy documents to clarify management systems and indicate development directions. For example, to better coordinate development and safety, it is clarified that car modification will be subject to graded and classified management, guiding and supporting the standardized and orderly development of the car modification industry. In terms of “liberalization,” localities are given a certain degree of autonomy, supporting pilot cities for automobile circulation and consumption reform to boldly reform and innovate with authorization from higher levels or within the scope of local authority. For example, pilot cities are supported in researching and simplifying the approval process for RV campsite land use, reducing administrative costs for enterprises, and exploring replicable and scalable experiences and practices.
