Anhui province achieved historic breakthroughs in the first half of 2025, ranking first nationally in both automobile and new energy vehicle (NEV) outputs.

As the core of Anhui's technological innovation, the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone demonstrated robust growth in the NEV sector, now hosting over 170 automotive enterprises, including industry leaders such as Hefei Changan Automobile and Continental Tire. Benefiting from new industrial policies enacted this year, the zone is accelerating the clustering of NEV projects in the Tanggang area, aiming to build a globally competitive NEV industrial hub. The zone targets an industrial scale exceeding 100 billion yuan ($14.03 million) by 2027.

The assembly line of Hefei Changan Automobile. [Photo/WeChat account: hefeigaoxinfabu]

Hefei Changan Automobile, CHANGAN Automobile's largest passenger vehicle production base outside Chongqing, boasts an annual capacity of 400,000 units. From January to August, it produced 223,000 vehicles (including 80,000 NEVs) and generated 16.07 billion yuan in output value, a 44.2% year-on-year increase. Full-year projections anticipate 340,000 vehicles and over 26 billion yuan in output.

The production line of Continental Tire's Hefei plant. [Photo/WeChat account: hefeigaoxinfabu]

Similarly, Continental Tire's Hefei plant in the Tanggang area represents a vital component supplier. Since commencing production in 2011, the German group has launched four project phases in the zone, with cumulative investment exceeding 1 billion euros. A company executive said that with major partners like BYD, CHANGAN Automobile, and Volkswagen operating large production bases in Hefei, the company can respond more efficiently to client needs and expand collaboration.

In March, the Anhui Future Intelligent Connected NEV Innovation Center settled in the zone's Zhong'an Chuanggu Technology Park. Leveraging this platform alongside institutions such as the CAS Hefei Institute of Technology Innovation, the University of Science and Technology of China, and the Anhui Open Automotive Ecosystem Laboratory, the zone is deepening integration between NEVs and software, big data, cloud computing, and AI, enabling cross-industry collaborative innovation.

Currently, the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone has established a "trinity" industrial layout encompassing complete vehicles, components, and aftermarket services, forming a comprehensive NEV chain. In the first half of this year, the zone's auto sector achieved 22.9 billion yuan in output value. By 2027, it plans to form a cluster of more than 300 NEV and smart vehicle chain enterprises and exceed 100 billion yuan in scale, building an ecosystem integrating R&D, smart manufacturing, and product demonstration.

As Anhui is on the fast track to becoming a global NEV hub and Hefei solidifies its "NEV Capital" vision, the zone is leveraging its dual engines of technological innovation and industrial upgrading to propel the sector toward broader horizons.