On April 12th, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspected the city of Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province.Xi went to LG Display's manufacturing base in Guangzhou and GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., where he learned about local efforts to promote high-standard opening up and the high-quality development of the manufacturing sector, and about how enterprises are boosting innovation and building self-owned brands.

Guangdong is the largest province for automobile manufacturing and consumption in China, Guangdong is home to GAC Group, which was founded in 1997, and has become one of the leading carmakers in China and a Fortune Global 500 company in just 30 years. In 2022, GAC Group achieved production of 2.48 million and sales of 2.434 million vehicles, representing a year-on-year increase of 16.0% and 13.5%, respectively, and rose to fourth place in the industry in terms of production and sales scale.

Guangzhou, home to a cluster of auto manufacturers including GAC Group, has become one of the top three auto production bases in China. In 2022, the city's automobile industry achieved a total industrial output value of 647.17 billion yuan and a production volume of 3.1368 million vehicles, representing year-on-year growth of 6.3% and 5.7% respectively. The city's complete vehicle production and sales hit a historical high, ranking first in the country for the fourth consecutive year.

In the current automobile industry, the development trend is shifting towards new energy vehicles. Guangdong has taken the lead in seizing this opportunity. In Guangdong, approximately 2.4 new energy vehicles roll off the production line every minute. Last year, Guangdong's production of new energy vehicles reached about 1.3 million units, a year-on-year increase of 140%, accounting for approximately 18% of the national total. In other words, one in every six new energy vehicles in China is made in Guangdong. Taking GAC Aion as an example, the company is at a world-leading level in terms of battery, motor, and electric control technologies. In 2022, GAC Aion focused on "EV+ICV" (intelligence and electrification), with total sales reaching 271,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 126%. In the first quarter of this year, the total sales exceeded 80,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 79%.

Guangdong-made new energy vehicles are not only popular in China, but also well-received internationally. According to the data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on April 11, the number of Chinese automobile exports has continued to achieve explosive growth this year, with 994,000 vehicles exported by automobile companies in the first three months of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 70.6%. Among them, the number of exported new energy vehicles reached 248,000, an increase of 110% year-on-year. Shenzhen in Guangdong has become a new star in new energy vehicle exports, with statistics from Shenzhen Customs showing that new energy vehicle exports through the Shenzhen Customs exceeded 3.6 billion yuan from January to February, an increase of about 2300% year-on-year.

There is still enormous potential for the development of new energy vehicles in Guangzhou and Guangdong at large.

广东：新能源汽车制造热土

4月12日，习近平总书记在广东省广州市先后考察了乐金显示广州制造基地、广汽埃安新能源汽车股份有限公司，了解当地推进高水平对外开放、推动制造业高质量发展，以及企业推进科技创新、打造自主品牌等情况，并同企业代表、科研人员、一线职工等交流。

广东是中国汽车制造和消费第一大省，成立于1997年的广汽集团在短短30年时间已跻身中国头部车企，世界500强企业。2022年，广汽集团实现汽车产销248万辆和243.4万辆，同比分别增长16.0%和13.5%，产销规模升至行业第四。

拥有广汽集团等一众造车企业的广州，也跻身全国三大汽车生产基地之一。2022年，广州汽车产业实现工业总产值6471.73亿元、产量313.68万辆，分别同比增长6.3%和5.7%，整车产销创历史新高，连续四年居全国城市之首。

当下，汽车工业发展的风口是新能源汽车。广东率先抓住了这一风口。在广东，每分钟便有约2.4辆新能源汽车驶下生产线。去年，广东新能源汽车产量约130万辆，同比增长140%，占全国约18%。也就是说，中国每6辆新能源汽车便有一辆是广东造。以广汽埃安为例，企业在电池、电机、电控等方面达到世界领先水平。2022年，广汽埃安聚焦“EV+ICV” （智能化+电动化），累计销量27.1万辆，同比增长126％。今年第一季度，累计销量超8万辆，同比增长79%。 

广东造的新能源汽车不仅在国内“很能打”，在国际上也备受青睐。4月11日，中国汽车协会发布的汽车产销数据显示，中国汽车出口数量今年继续实现“爆发式增长”，2023年1-3月汽车企业出口99.4万辆，同比增长70.6%。其中，新能源汽车出口辆达24.8万辆，同比增长1.1倍。广东深圳已经成为新能源汽车出口“新秀”，据深圳海关统计数据显示，1至2月深圳关区新能源汽车出口超36亿元，同比增长约2300%。

对于广州、广东而言，新能源汽车还有巨大发展空间。

文 | 戚美青
翻译 | 刘佳慧