CAAM Warns of Intensifying Model Homogenization, Urges Automakers to Return to Rational Competition

At the China Automotive Forum held on July 22, 2026, Fu Bingfeng, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), stated that the global automotive industry is undergoing profound structural adjustments and facing multiple challenges. Externally, the sector is impacted by new low-carbon regulations and geopolitical tensions; internally, it grapples with intensifying competition, the need to break through key core technologies, and structural capacity adjustments. Fu noted that over 500 new vehicle models were launched in the first half of this year, with most automakers adopting a "broad and comprehensive" product portfolio strategy. This has led to increasingly severe model homogenization, overly aggressive strategic targets, and widespread operational anxiety across the industry. He urged companies to uphold competitive boundaries, return to rationality, focus on differentiated development paths, clarify their positioning, abandon short-term opportunism, and embrace a long-term development mindset. According to related data, a total of 542 new vehicle models were launched domestically from January to May 2026, averaging 3.6 new models per day. As of the end of June 2026, China’s total motor vehicle fleet reached 476 million units, including 371 million automobiles. New energy vehicles (NEVs) accounted for 13.19% of the total automobile fleet, with 5.195 million NEVs newly registered in the first half of the year—representing 49.42% of all newly registered automobiles during the same period.