For Liu Wen, a Beijing-based professional who is head of a Xiaomi car owners’ club, his decision to purchase a Xiaomi SU7 is emblematic of the new consumer logic behind the car owners of domestic new-energy vehicles (NEVs).
“At the start, I was thinking about buying a Tesla. However, despite its strong performance on countryside roads in American and European countries, I had second thoughts about its ability to handle the road conditions and population density of a megacity in China and the cost effectiveness of the purchase. So I test-drove every major Chinese NEV in the 250,000 yuan ($35,862) price range and eventually chose the Xiaomi SU7,” Liu told Beijing Review.
The final choice hinged on three factors: “First, aesthetics; my wife values overall design. Second, the interior’s premium functions. Third, the human-machine interaction experience. Particularly for a new driver, features like automated parking and voice-controlled functions are not just conveniences; they are enablers,” Liu explained.
Xiaomi, a tech giant renowned for its smartphones, has made a powerful entry into the smart electric vehicle arena with its debut model, the SU7 sedan. The car has rapidly gained popularity around the country, praised for its performance, smart cockpit features and competitive design.
Sales data show strong market reception for the SU7. Since its launch in April 2024, deliveries have reportedly approached 400,000 units.
Customized design
According to data from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), in 2025, China’s automotive industry reached a historic milestone: NEVs accounted for over 50 percent of new domestic car sales for the first time. With annual production and sales both exceeding 34 million units, China cemented its position as the world’s largest auto market for the 17th consecutive year.
NEV upgrades are driven by sophisticated consumer preferences, accelerated globalization, cutting-edge technological autonomy and the rise of a new form of community automotive culture.
The emphasis on smart, user-centric design is reshaping the entire market. From spacious new-energy MPVs (multipurpose vehicles) catering to big families, to rugged smart SUVs (sports utility vehicles) capable of climbing 45-degree slopes, manufacturers are relentlessly segmenting and customizing.
This competitive landscape has given rise to a galaxy of distinct brands, each carving out its own territory with a clear identity.
For tech-savvy young professionals, Xiaomi SU7 and Xpeng SUVs are top choices. Guangdong-based NEV manufacturer Xpeng Motors targets large families with its X9 super-range-extended MPV, featuring 452 km pure electric range and a total range of over 1,600 km, for which orders have surged in north China.
Li Auto, an NEV manufacturer headquartered in Beijing, has built its business around the needs of multi-generational families. Its flagship L9 SUV is a “mobile living room” for large families, with a 2026 refresh featuring a larger body, over 400 km of pure electric range and a front-row massive screen.
BYD, the industry giant, dominates the market of customers who value cost effectiveness and reliability, catering to practical needs with a vast lineup of vehicles. Recent enhancements made to popular models like the Qin PLUS and Seal 05 allow plug-in hybrid versions to exceed 210 km of pure electric range, effectively enabling weekly charging for daily commutes.
“The options are so wide and the functions so diverse that the relationship between brands and customers truly begins after purchase, since you cannot get to the bottom of a car in a few hours spent in the store. Many of the features and functions are discovered and mastered through use and over-the-air updates. So far, the common functions offered by most of NEV brands include advanced driver-assistance systems for highways and urban roads, intelligent voice-controlled cabins that handle everything from navigation to seat massage settings, and seamless smartphone integration,” Liu said.
Competitive prices
Alongside the surge in functionality, price remains a key battleground. Data from CAAM show the 100,000-200,000 yuan ($14,345-28,690) segment is now the heart of the NEV market, with sales reaching 6.94 million units in 2025, a 24-percent year-on-year increase. In contrast, sales of traditional gasoline cars in the same price bracket fell by 10 percent.
“The age of spending some 300,000-500,000 yuan ($43,035-71,725) on a car is totally gone,” Wang Tao, an Internet industry professional and loyal Xpeng owner, who has upgraded his car four times since 2019, told Beijing Review.
Wang has personal experience of China’s NEV price revolution. “My first Xpeng G3 in 2019 cost nearly 300,000 yuan, which many people around me considered a bold entry into smart driving. By the time I upgraded to the G6 a few years later, the starting price for a model with LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and far superior autonomous driving had dropped to the mid-200,000s. Now, with the intense competition, you can buy a fully-equipped smart NEV with a top-tier assisted driving system for well under 200,000 yuan. And if you offset the cost with the proceeds from selling the old car, the net cost of upgrading is less than 100,000 yuan.”
“And this price reduction is not a sign of diminishing quality, but rather the fruit of breakneck technological advancement and a fiercely competitive market,” Wang added. “The cost of key components like batteries and chips has fallen sharply, while domestic supply chains have matured. At the same time, the influx of new players means companies must deliver more value for the same price. Consumers today are getting a significantly more advanced product for less money.”
Wang also represents a growing trend of brand loyalty built on tangible technological progress. “I upgrade because each NEV generation comes with a real leap, such as the introduction of LiDAR, a shift to pure vision-based autonomous driving, or a new AI chip with greater processing power. You’re investing in an evolving experience.”
This loyalty is reflected in macro data from CAAM. Chinese brands now command a remarkable 69.5 percent share of the vehicle market in China, a rise of 4.3 percentage points in a single year.
“We should fully leverage the collective strengths of the entire industry to drive every enterprise toward greater capability and efficiency, jointly fostering the development of China’s automotive industry,” Xiang Xingchu, Chairman of Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group, told Xinhua News Agency.
Going global
NEV sales are not only surging in China’s domestic market, but also in the world market. According to a report from CAAM, released on January 14, China exported over 7 million vehicles in 2025, with NEV exports reaching 2.62 million units, a stunning 103.7-percent increase year on year. This export wave reflects a strategic upgrade from mere trade to deep, localized integration.
“The competition has shifted from single-product competition to ecosystem and system competition, and we are taking steps to adapt products, channels and energy ecosystems to local conditions,” Dai Binzheng, Deputy General Manager of state-owned vehicle manufacturer GAC International, said at a sub-forum of the Boao Forum for Asia held in Hainan Province in December 2025.
GAC’s approach is instructive: Its products have entered 85 countries and regions, supported by 600 sales outlets, five overseas assembly plants and seven logistics hubs. In Thailand, a strategic beachhead, GAC has deployed 58 charging stations and captured over 50 percent of the local taxi market.
Liu witnesses this global appeal from a user’s perspective. “I follow how brands like Xiaomi are doing overseas. In Russia, new models initially sold for a significant premium due to high demand.”
“When knowledgeable overseas users choose and repurchase Chinese NEVs, it proves our products meet and even exceed global standards,” Liu added.
This global expansion is not without its hurdles. The challenges include navigating complex trade policies, adapting to diverse regulatory and safety standards and building lasting brand equity in crowded markets.
Despite the challenges, the industry is forging ahead, moving from exporting finished cars to establishing regional research and development centers, supply chains and service networks.
Technological vanguard
At the core of China’s NEV ascendancy, both at home and abroad, lies a relentless engine of technological innovation, driven by breakthroughs in software, silicon and sensing.
“The next phase of the industry’s growth hinges on innovation, with pivotal opportunities emerging in key technological fields such as materials, tooling software, autonomous driving and solid-state batteries. The electrification of heavy-duty trucks and the international expansion of the NEV industry chain are also poised to make new breakthroughs,” Ji Xuehong, Director of the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center at North China University of Technology, told newspaper Economic Information Daily.
Gao Tianjiao, head of a car owners’ club, is a strong advocate of smart driving. He recently completed a 6,000-km solo road journey in north and west China, relying heavily on assistive driving. “These systems provide warnings and limited automated interventions. It was able to handle highway driving effortlessly; and for most of the time, I could lean back and relax. It’s a generational change,” Gao told Beijing Review.
Gao said that domestic systems have developed a unique edge tailored to China’s complex road ecology. “International leaders like Tesla rely on a pure vision approach. But China’s streets—with their dense, mixed traffic of cars, electric mopeds and pedestrians—require a different solution,” he explained. Chinese solutions, often fusing cameras, LiDAR and radar with powerful domestic AI chips, are evolving rapidly to master this environment.
Gao draws a clear distinction between current assistive driving and higher-level automation. “I’ve observed the unmanned taxis in Beijing’s Daxing District. They operate in limited, orderly areas. Their decisions can be rigid in complex settings, often stopping and waiting, which hurts traffic flow. Our assistive driving is bolder and more efficient in mixed traffic flows, especially when the driver is there to oversee and intervene if needed.”
This capability is being rigorously validated. At Geely’s Global Comprehensive Safety Center, one of the world’s most advanced testing facilities located in Zhejiang’s Ningbo City, assistive driving systems are subjected to extreme conditions, such as dense fog with under 15 meters of visibility, ensuring robustness beyond standard requirements.
The commercial operation of autonomous driving is also advancing. In late 2025, Chinese automakers including Changan received the country’s first licenses to operate Level 3 (L3) conditional autonomous driving vehicles on designated city roads. L3 is the level of autonomous driving at which the car can handle driving tasks itself under defined conditions, but the driver must be ready to take control when necessary. Industry consensus points to 2026 as the year for the scaled commercial use of highway L3. Huawei’s ADS highway L3 system, for example, is undergoing large-scale testing in seven cities for a planned 2026 launch.
While autonomous driving captures headlines, core battery technological breakthroughs remain critical for mass adoption.
“The real revolution everyone awaits is solid-state batteries and ultra-fast charging that matches gasoline refueling speed. These will alleviate owners’ anxiety about looking for charging stations frequently, and essentially reduce risks on the road,” Gao said.
The industry is sprinting toward that goal. Dongfeng Motor has established a pilot line for solid-state batteries with an energy density of 350 watt-hours per kg, targeting mass production in 2026. BYD has introduced a high-voltage architecture enabling megawatt-level flash charging. These advancements are part of a national strategic focus, and the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period prioritizes breakthroughs in all-solid-state batteries.
Community bonds
Beneath the macro trends of consumption, globalization and technology lies a powerful, human-scale force: the automotive community. In China, car owners’ clubs have evolved from casual hobbyist groups into sophisticated private ecosystems that significantly influence brand perception, user retention and even product development.
“With constant updates, everyone turns to the community to learn new features, troubleshoot issues or get advice on accessories,” Liu explained. “These groups provide real-time, peer-to-peer support that often surpasses official channels in speed and practicality.”
Their economic function is equally vital. “Brands and online retail platforms like JD.com
value our private traffic,” Liu said. “By partnering with us, they can redirect marketing funds into exclusive discounts for members. It’s a virtuous circle: Owners save money, and brands gain loyal advocates.” These clubs also organize group purchases, charity events and offline gatherings like camping trips.
Forward-thinking manufacturers now actively engage with these communities. “From Xiaomi to Li Auto, product managers frequently join our forums, send out surveys and even commission paid interviews,” Liu said.
Ultimately, these communities solidify the emotional bond that transcends hardware. Wang estimates that within such groups, the likelihood of repurchasing a Chinese NEV exceeds 90 percent.
“The car club community is both a platform for many first-time buyers to learn about domestic NEVs and also for the old customers to make the second or third purchase to upgrade, because it brings you the latest news about technological updates and user experiences. Once you’re accustomed to the smooth acceleration, intuitive interaction and low running costs, going back to a traditional gasoline car feels like a step backward into a past era,” Wang said. –The Daily Mail-Beijing Review news exchange item
