A new energy vehicle assembly line. [Photo/WeChat ID: hefeigaoxinfabu]

In China's national new energy vehicle (NEV) industrial landscape, Anhui province is demonstrating robust growth. According to the latest statistics, from January to February 2025, Anhui produced 234,200 NEVs, accounting for 12.89% of China's total output and ranking first nationwide. 

The NEV sector has become the top-priority industry for both Anhui and Hefei, with the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone positioning it as a core pillar of its industrial layout. In the first two months of this year, the zone's NEV industry achieved 8.1 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) in industrial output, surging 57.8% year on year.

In March, the Anhui Future Intelligent Connected NEV Innovation Center was established in the zone. The center addresses critical needs for product innovation and institutional reform in the province's automotive sector by integrating technical expertise, talent, and capital into R&D breakthroughs, commercialization of achievements, and demonstration applications. Key initiatives include laboratories jointly built by universities and automakers to advance shared technologies.

Leveraging the center, the zone plans to amplify the influence of industry leaders like CHANGAN Automobile and Continental Tire to attract NEV industrial clusters. Through deep analysis of supply chains, it is targeting top-tier enterprises in niche sectors, particularly those driving the shift from electrification to intelligentization, as well as high-end auto component manufacturers, accelerating the influx of NEV projects.

The zone will further capitalize on its NEV and intelligent connected vehicle (ICV) industrial base, combining its strengths in innovation resources and technological capabilities to deepen the integration of industrial and innovation chains. It aims to build a globally competitive NEV industrial hub.

Under its roadmap, by 2027, the Hefei high-tech zone will cluster over 300 companies across the NEV and ICV industrial chains, with total output exceeding 100 billion yuan. The goal is to establish a comprehensive ecosystem integrating R&D innovation, smart manufacturing, and application demonstration.