Gasgoo Munich- On April 11, at the Intelligent Electric Vehicle Development Forum 2026, Feng Xingya, Party Secretary and Chairman of GAC Group, delivered a keynote speech.
The following is a transcript of the speech:
Good morning, everyone!
Listening just now to Minister Su, Academician Ouyang, and Mr. Zhao, I felt a strong resonance and was deeply inspired. The auto industry is currently at a critical juncture of transformation in industry, technology, management, and landscape. Last year, GAC adopted the "Panyu Action" as its strategic blueprint, launching three key campaigns focused on user needs, product value, and service experience. The reforms have already begun to show results. In the first quarter of this year, GAC Group sold 380,000 vehicles, achieving year-on-year growth and continuing the momentum from the start of the year with another strong opening. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to friends from all sectors who care about and support GAC's development.
However, facing the fierce competitive landscape, I often wonder: where should GAC go next? It is clear that tomorrow's competition will no longer be about the speed of scale expansion, but the deep cultivation of value. It is about standing firmer and going further. Under the theme "Green and Smart Development, Integration for the Long Run," I would like to share three thoughts.
I. Green and Smart in Parallel: Facing the Reconstruction of Competition Logic
Ten years ago, it was a switch to green energy routes; five years ago, intelligence was more about the stacking of functions. Today, green and smart features are no longer add-ons but essential options deeply bound to the automobile. The core tone of the national "15th Five-Year Plan" regarding intelligent connected new energy vehicles confirms this point. This changes not only the form of the product but the logic of competition, with three trends being particularly obvious.
First, technology competition. It is shifting from single-point breakthroughs to the building of system capabilities. In the past, leading in a single technology could win users; today, the contest is for the advantages of a technology system ranging from chips to operating systems, and from batteries to AI integration. I fully agree with Academician Ouyang on this point regarding system advantages. Data shows that connecting technological advantages into a system advantage perceptible to users can increase user satisfaction by 30%, driving products to better win the hearts and minds of users.
Second, value competition. It is shifting from functional satisfaction to emotional resonance. We used to say that software defines the car, but now it seems the essence is that user experience defines everything. GAC has held multiple "Open Mic" events, facing user complaints and suggestions directly. Many functional configurations we take for granted often win widespread praise from users, which shows that the power to define product value must be handed from the enterprise to the user. Based on this thinking, GAC is deeply integrating user needs into the entire process of market insight, product definition, and design R&D. For example, the first product of the Qijing brand jointly built with Huawei, the Qijing GT7, is a powerful practice of this concept. Additionally, market competition is shifting from a single market to the integration of dual circulation. Research has found that the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in many rural county-level markets is less than 20%, and the space in lower-tier markets is accelerating its release. Internationalization has become a must-win battleground; automakers must fight well on both domestic and foreign fronts. Facing this new situation, we need to rapidly apply new concepts and methods.
II. Deepening Integrated Development to Build Collaborative Capabilities
I often describe GAC's transformation internally as building a house in three years. Last year was the year of ramming the foundation and erecting the pillars; the core was adjusting our posture and practicing internal skills. This year, GAC will enter the "renovation" phase, converting internal skills into substantive capabilities and fighting three strategic depths to support the three major campaigns.
1. The depth of collaborative innovation. Independent R&D acts as the vanguard. GAC's cumulative investment in self-research has exceeded 62 billion yuan, creating key technologies such as the Magazine Battery, Xingyuan range extender, ADiGO GSD intelligent driving assistance system, and end-cloud integrated large models. In particular, the amorphous alloy electric drive mounted on the N60 achieves an efficiency of up to 99%, placing it at a global leading level. Furthermore, we are elevating AI to a group strategy, promoting AI integration around products, organization, technology, culture, and research. Behind the vanguard is a strong cooperative support network. We are deeply cooperating with upstream and downstream giants like Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba, and WeRide to build a complete technology innovation ecosystem, maximizing innovation efficiency. For instance, last year's joint launch of the Aion UT Super with JD.com and CATL achieved a double harvest of sales and reputation, pioneering a new model of ecological cooperation with complementary advantages.
2. The depth of diversified value. Concentric circles around the value of the "New Four Modernizations," with the user at the core, extending layer by layer.
The first layer is the product. This year, GAC will launch nine refreshed and all-new models, covering diverse scenarios such as the silver economy and off-road self-driving. The safety bottom line is GAC's highest commitment to products. Recently, the Southern Intelligent Connected New Energy Vehicle Test Field, in which we participated as an investor, was officially opened. Relying on this testing center, GAC will strengthen systematic quality verification covering 12 major verification items and over 1,500 sub-items, ensuring that every car has solid quality and transforming quality strength into perceptible product value.
The second layer is service. OTA is a key focus for service improvement. In 2025, we completed 68 OTA upgrades, cumulatively adding and optimizing over 700 features, keeping users' cars constantly new and continuously appreciating in value. In terms of replenishment, the future will see the parallel development of three modes: private pile slow charging, public pile fast and ultra-fast charging, and battery swapping, together supporting an anxiety-free replenishment experience for users. To this end, we not only gift slow charging piles to car buyers but have also built public fast charging piles covering 213 cities nationwide, as well as a battery swapping network. At the same time, GAC has built a V2G microgrid currently under test operation, with discharge expected to exceed 1.5 million kWh this year, truly starting to let users participate in maximizing the energy value of electric vehicles as storage units.
The outermost layer is a three-dimensional mobility ecosystem. The Robotaxi R2, jointly created with DiDi, has been officially delivered and will be put into use successively. The GOVY flying car has received nearly 2,000 orders and is expected to complete trial flight certification and achieve mass delivery this year. Embodied AI robots are about to enter mass production. GAC will continue to build four scenarios—Sky, Human, Vehicle, and Home—around the Xingling AI panorama, satisfying users' imaginations of mobile life.
3. The depth of the dual-cycle market. Domestically, GAC is fully promoting the sinking of automobiles. This year, we expect to establish 1,000 comprehensive sales service centers and will also build an NPS evaluation system with over 160 indicators, driving upgrades and iterations through user reputation.
Overseas markets are the touchstone for testing domestic capabilities. We are expanding domestic green and smart technology, service systems, and product quality overseas, allowing overseas users to obtain the same high-quality experience. GAC is building market synergy through domestic and international dual circulation. Technology, value, and market—these three depths are exerting force as one, transforming GAC's backend strategic layout and underlying system capabilities into the service experience felt by users, allowing us to truly get close to, understand, and give back to users.
III. Going International, Deepening Global Localized Operations
Chinese automobile exports have ranked first globally for three consecutive years, and the results are obvious to all. In the second half of going global, there are two core tasks: first, hard power must stand firm; second, soft power must integrate. To stand firm is to stand steady, relying on product power. Although GAC started late overseas, progress has been rapid. In the first quarter, overseas sales of GAC's self-own brands increased by 86% year-on-year, and models performed excellently in core performances such as quality, safety, and intelligence. Among them, the Aion V is one of the few pure electric SUVs to simultaneously receive five-star certifications from both European and Australian NCAPs.
To integrate is to go far, relying on localization. GAC is promoting the coordinated export of ecological, digital, and financial systems around the "One GAC" strategy, establishing a model co-creation mechanism, and inviting overseas consumers and dealers to participate in the definition of global models. In 2027, we will launch three models to build a comprehensive service system of "Automobile + Energy + Mobility," making GAC a trusted mobility partner for local users. 2026 is the opening year of the "15th Five-Year Plan." Standing at a new starting point, I am full of confidence in the future of Chinese automobiles. Under the guidance of the group's "15th Five-Year Plan," we will firmly build a new ecological GAC with strong system capabilities, high user value, and internationalization. We sincerely hope to work with everyone to jointly promote Chinese automobiles to the world and provide global users with a greener, smarter, and better mobile life. I invite everyone to tomorrow, April 12, which is GAC's Tech Day. This Tech Day will focus on improving user full-scenario travel experiences and releasing the latest green and smart innovation results. Friends from all walks of life are welcome to follow and guide us.
Thank you all!
