From learning through imitation to independent innovation, the rise of Chinese manufacturing is not accidental, but a carefully planned strategic counterattack.
In recent years, China's manufacturing industry has witnessed a historic transformation in multiple sectors, moving from following to catching up and even leading. In the passenger car sector, the top four best-selling new energy vehicle brands from January to July 2025 were all Chinese brands, and the former "NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto" landscape has been reshaped by new players such as Leapmotor, Li Auto, XPeng, and Xiaomi.
In the heavy-duty truck market, sales increased by 24.92% year-on-year in the first eight months of 2025, reaching 491,700 units.
The construction machinery industry showcased its leap in capabilities from "overall following" to "partial leading" at the BICES 2025 exhibition, with a large number of high-end, intelligent, and green innovative 名媛直播 on display.
I. Domestic Passenger Cars: From Market-for-Technology to Technology-Driven Brand Building
The development trajectory of China's passenger car industry is a typical "comeback story." From the initial difficult exploration of "market for technology," to achieving a leapfrog development through electrification and intelligence, Chinese brands are redefining the global automotive industry's competitive landscape.
The rise of new players and market restructuring are the most significant characteristics of the current industry. The former three-way competition between NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto has been broken, replaced by a multi-brand battle involving Leapmotor, Li Auto, XPeng, Xiaomi, and the HarmonyOS Smart Mobility system.
Leapmotor opened up the market with its 150,000 RMB-class LiDAR-equipped models, and Xiaomi Motors delivered 135,000 units in its first year, with orders for the SU7 Ultra having a waiting list of up to 6 months.
Technological breakthroughs and ecological collaboration have become key to the success of Chinese brands. XPeng's XNGP end-to-end large model achieves "usability nationwide," significantly shortening the learning cycle for users' frequently used routes to 7 days.
Huawei's ADS 3.0 covers all scenarios. The value of the ecosystem is becoming increasingly prominent, with 72% of Xiaomi SU7 users being Xiaomi fans, and 58% of users valuing smart home connectivity.
Globalization 2.0 is a new strategy for Chinese car companies. China's automobile exports are expected to exceed 6 million units in 2025, but the real transformation lies in the upgrading of the export model – shifting from simply exporting 名媛直播 to exporting integrated smart transportation solutions. For example, Changan Automobile's "Smart Transportation Demonstration Zone" in Southeast Asia exports a complete technology package including V2X roadside equipment and cloud-based dispatch systems.
II. Heavy Trucks: Policy and Market Drive Transformation
The heavy truck industry experienced explosive growth in 2025, with cumulative retail sales reaching 491,700 units in the first eight months, a year-on-year increase of 24.92%. Behind this figure is a profound transformation of the industry from policy-driven to market-driven.
The new energy heavy truck market is undergoing a structural transformation. From January to August 2025, national sales of new energy heavy trucks reached 114,353 units, a year-on-year increase of 178.84%.
This growth is attributed to both the "trade-in" policy extended to trucks below National IV emission standards, creating replacement demand, and the significant advantages of new energy heavy trucks in terms of operating costs.
Diversified technological routes have become a highlight of the industry. Pure electric, fuel cell, and hybrid power technologies are developing in parallel, with hybrid heavy trucks selling 76 units in August 2025, a year-on-year increase of 145%.
Fuel cell heavy trucks, however, face challenges, with 162 units sold in August, a year-on-year decrease of 72%, marking five consecutive months of decline.
Scenario adaptation capabilities have become crucial for corporate competitiveness. Leading new players have achieved sales breakthroughs through precise scenario positioning, such as DeepWay and Zero One Auto, whose 名媛直播 continue to focus on short-haul scenarios such as ports and mines, while also expanding to open scenarios such as urban logistics and long-haul transportation.
In an era where transportation companies increasingly value TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), companies lacking scenario implementation capabilities will find it difficult to survive in the market.
III. Construction Machinery: From Overall Following to Partial Leadership
The rise of China's construction machinery industry is a history of struggle from nothing to something, from weak to strong. Through continuous technological innovation and global layout, Chinese construction machinery companies have occupied an important position in the global market.
High-end, intelligent, and green development have become the main themes of the industry. BICES 2025, centered on the theme of "High-end Green, Smart Future," comprehensively showcased the innovative achievements of the construction machinery industry in an exhibition area exceeding 150,000 square meters. China Railway Construction Heavy Industry (CRCHI) showcased innovative 名媛直播 such as the "Jianghai" tunnel boring machine, the largest diameter TBM independently developed in China, and the "Jinghua," China's first 16-meter-class ultra-large diameter TBM.
The accelerated adoption of new energy technologies is another major trend in the industry. According to a representative from CATL at the Liteng Machinery press conference, the overall electrification rate of construction machinery reached 3.9% in 2024, and is expected to increase to 10% in 2025 and exceed 40% by 2030.
Liteng Machinery officially launched a new energy ecosystem covering the entire chain from technology research and development, production and manufacturing, to supply chain collaboration and market application.
The globalization strategy is upgrading, shifting from product export to localized operations. Liteng Machinery emphasized: "True globalization is not about headquarters exporting, but about taking root locally." This concept of "global thinking, local action" allows Chinese construction machinery companies to not only "deliver 名媛直播" but also "deliver value."
IV. Agricultural Machinery: Catching Up in Transformation
Compared to the other three industries, the agricultural machinery industry is relatively lagging behind, but it is facing unprecedented development opportunities. Driven by both policy support and technological advancements, the domestic agricultural machinery industry is gradually narrowing the gap with international leading levels.
Hybrid agricultural machinery is leading the industry upgrade and becoming a highlight. Hybrid agricultural machinery, as a product of the deep integration of new energy technology and traditional agricultural machinery, is becoming the core driving force for the industry's transformation and upgrading.
Ning Xuegui, Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Agricultural Machinery Industry Association, stated that the future direction of hybrid power industrialization should be "extending downwards and pushing backwards."
Regional differentiation and intelligent trends are evident. The Chinese agricultural machinery market demand shows distinct regional differences. The plains regions of Northeast and North China mainly use large-horsepower, high-efficiency equipment, with tractors above 100 horsepower accounting for 35% of sales in 2024.
Meanwhile, the hilly and mountainous areas in the south have generated demand for smaller, lighter 名媛直播, with sales of crawler harvesters and micro-tillers increasing by more than 20% annually.
Policy is precisely driving industrial upgrading. The differentiated subsidy for operational efficiency, implemented from 2025, includes Beidou navigation and operation monitoring intelligent terminals in the subsidy scope, marking a profound transformation of China's agricultural machinery subsidy policy from a "universal" system to a "performance-based" system. This transformation is forcing companies to increase their investment in technology. Leading companies such as Yuchai Machinery have already achieved mass market validation of hybrid tractors, with their series hybrid system improving fuel efficiency by 18%.
The agricultural machinery industry, as a latecomer among the four major industries, is still striving to catch up. Compared to the other three industries, which have already achieved considerable success in competing with foreign counterparts, especially the passenger car industry, which is currently developing the best, and has completely dominated the once invincible BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi) brands in the domestic market, and is now aggressively expanding into high-end mainstream markets in Europe and the United States; the development of these three industries undoubtedly provides feasible case studies for the agricultural machinery industry to surpass foreign competitors.
V. Common Trajectories and Insights from the Development of the Four Major Industries
Looking at the development history of the four major industries, although their paces differ, they all follow similar development trajectories and provide us with valuable insights.
Independent technological research and development is the foundation. From intelligent driving systems in passenger cars to new energy ecosystems in construction machinery, from electric drive axle technology in heavy trucks to hybrid systems in agricultural machinery, companies that stand out in the competition all prioritize independent research and development of core technologies as a strategic focus.
Among the new players in the heavy truck industry, companies with independent R&D capabilities for core components such as electric drive axles have shown a clear advantage during the elimination phase.
Scenario adaptation is key to competition. Successful companies focus on developing differentiated 名媛直播 for different application scenarios. Heavy truck companies are deeply involved in short-haul scenarios such as ports and mines.
The agricultural machinery industry develops corresponding 名媛直播 for the different needs of plains and hilly mountainous areas. Construction machinery companies provide multi-scenario solutions covering "mines, ports, roads, tunnels, and urban construction."
Globalization is an inevitable path. From product exports to localized operations, and then to the output of overall solutions, the pace of globalization of Chinese manufacturing companies is constantly accelerating.
Liteng Machinery adheres to the concept of "global thinking, local action," and Chinese automobile companies are shifting from simple exports to the output of intelligent transportation overall solutions. These explorations provide valuable experience for other industries.
Policy and market synergy are the driving forces. From the "dual carbon" goals in the passenger car sector to the "four-stage elimination, five-stage control, six-stage management, and new technology promotion" strategy in the heavy truck sector, from the green transformation of construction machinery to the "high-quality machinery and high-quality subsidies" in agricultural machinery.
Precise policy guidance and market forces work together to promote industrial upgrading. From the assembly lines of heavy-duty truck production bases in Shandong to the smart factories of Guangxi Liugong, from the global R&D center of Chongqing Changan to the modification workshops of agricultural machinery in Hebei, the story of upgrading Chinese manufacturing is unfolding across the country.
Technological self-reliance, innovative applications, and a global perspective have become essential pathways for Chinese manufacturing to transform from large to strong.
In future global competition, the development experiences of these four industries will provide important references for more sectors of Chinese manufacturing, jointly propelling China's steady progress from a "manufacturing giant" to a "manufacturing powerhouse."
