Congress members submit proposals for auto industry

Proposals for the automobile industry, such as those related to auto consumption, new-energy vehicles as well as intelligent and connected vehicle are hot topics at this year's sessions of the National People's Congress.

Automakers in China aim to further lift sales and attract car buyers in the coming months, after the market was impacted by macro-economic factors and weak consumer confidence amid the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year.

China’s auto sales rose 4.4 percent year on year to 2.07 million vehicles in April, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the country's top industry association.

April's growth comes after the government released a series of policies to rev up auto consumption. It's also a reversal compared with sales drops of 43 percent and 79 percent recorded in March and February, respectively.

GAC Chairman Zeng Qinghong proposed accelerating the introduction of measures to further stimulate automobile consumption. 

Zeng put forward a series of suggestions, including appropriately increasing car plate quotas, postponing the implementation of National VI emission standards and further optimizing subsidy policies for consumers.

Two of Zeng's proposals focus on promoting automobile consumption. The others cover topics such as the development of the new-energy vehicle industry cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, network security and measures to fight poverty.

The chairman of China’s biggest automaker, SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, Chen Hong proposed supporting eligible regions in speeding up the development of intelligent-connected vehicles.

Chen suggested that eligible areas such as the Yangtze River Delta region can build pilot zones for highly automated (Level 3 or above) autonomous-driving road testing, like those in Shanghai International Automobile City in Jiading District and on Donghai Bridge. 

Chen also proposed accelerating the construction of new infrastructure such as 5G and broadband networks to support the development of intelligent-connected vehicles.

Geely Chairman Li Shufu proposed that the vehicle purchase tax, which is currently collected by the state tax department, should be jointly levied and administered by both the central and local governments.

Li said in his proposal that the measure would increase local fiscal and tax revenue as well as boost automobile consumption. Local governments can invest in building infrastructure such as urban roads, parking lots and charging poles, which will promote industry development and the construction of related supporting infrastructure.

Great Wall Motor’s president Wang Fengying proposed to promote the development of small electric vehicles, fuel-cell vehicles, auto consumption, data integration and intelligent detection of vehicles.