China’s Intelligent EV Plan Shifts Competition Toward Software, Safety and Scale

Beijing, 22 September 2026 – China is making intelligent connected new-energy vehicles a central part of its next industrial upgrade, with a government plan spanning 2026 to 2030. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and eight other departments have set ambitions for wider adoption, stronger core technologies and more advanced driving functions. The plan gives investors a roadmap for where policy support may flow, but its targets should be treated as goals rather than achieved market outcomes.

By 2030, the plan envisions new-energy vehicles representing 70% of domestic passenger-vehicle sales and 40% of commercial-vehicle sales. It also calls for broader deployment of autonomous-driving functions and improvements in batteries, charging, automotive chips and connected systems. These priorities reach far beyond carmakers. Suppliers of sensors, semiconductors, power electronics, software, testing equipment and charging infrastructure could all be affected by the pace and standards of implementation.